Apparatus, System, and Method for Target Search and Using Geocaching

ABSTRACT

A method of locating a target in a geographical space includes providing information to searcher users searching for the target, and potentially selecting among multiple targets for location, and providing rewards to the searchers after locating the target. The target may be a virtual object, and the method may use augmented reality features in locating the virtual object. The method may also provide for participating users who are not actively searching for the target, but may team with a searcher to receive a reward if the searcher locates the target, and who may potentially assist the user in locating the target. Participating users may be eligible if they are located in a designated participation area. The method may further provide for observing users who can observe progress of searchers in searching for the target but are not involved in the search or reward.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/195,248, filed Mar. 8, 2021, which is a divisional of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/352,360, filed Mar. 13, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No.10,949,867, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/128,155, filed Sep. 11, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,726,435, which isa non-provisional of, and claims priority to, U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/557,565, filed Sep. 12, 2017, and U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/557,102, filed Sep. 11, 2017, all of which priorapplications are incorporated by reference herein in their entiretiesand made part hereof.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to apparatuses, systems, methods, andcomputer generated user interfaces for using augmented reality featuresto unlock selective access for purchasing consumer products, such asarticles of footwear, articles of apparel, athletic equipment, or anyother type of consumer product.

BACKGROUND

Recent years have ushered in dramatic advancements in electroniccomputing devices and their capabilities, including advances inaugmented reality. Augmented reality may include image-recognitiondevices capable of receiving instructions and inputs from recognition ofcaptured images. The present disclosure provides for an apparatus andsystem for unlocking selective access for purchasing consumer productsthrough augmented reality features. While there are systems for limitedreleases of consumer products, or unlocking selectively access forpurchasing consumer products, these systems usually require consumers beready at a release time, waiting in long lines, or meeting somerequirement to be able to purchase the desired product. These systemsencourage competition between consumers to gain access, and limits thenumber of consumers willing to pursue this access.

As social media continues to grow, the influence of individuals withlarge social media connections expands. Certain individuals have a largenumber of followers, and have a large influence over the activity oftheir followers. Endorsement of a particular brand or product by theseindividuals can greatly increase the popularity and demand of the brandor product. Relatedly, individuals looking to expand their recognitionand increase their personal brand often seek to do so by increasingtheir social media presence. Aspects discussed herein relate to grantingcertain influential individuals images to share through their socialmedia accounts. A first user may then use a mobile device to view theimage on social media. While displayed on the first user's mobiledevice, a second user may user another mobile device to capture theimage as displayed on the first user's mobile device. Upon recognizingthe image, the second user's mobile device may unlock the second userselective access to purchase a consumer product or otherwise grant adesired output.

The current disclosure is directed towards systems and methods toovercome one or more of the deficiencies above as well as others in theart.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basicunderstanding of some aspects of the disclosure. The summary is not anextensive overview of the disclosure. It is neither intended to identifykey or critical elements of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope ofthe disclosure. The following summary merely presents some concepts ofthe disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the descriptionbelow.

Various aspects of this disclosure relate to systems and methods forunlocking selective access for purchasing consumer products throughaugmented reality. In certain embodiments, a user's mobile device mayuse augmented reality to capture an image and recognize a target in theimage. Upon recognition of a target in the image, the device may overlaya three-dimensional model of a consumer product, and unlock the useraccess to purchase the consumer product shown. In some aspects, thisimage may be recognized from a second user's mobile device. As oneexample, a user may find an image on social media, and show that imageto a friend. The friend may then capture the image using a mobiledevice, and upon recognizing the image as a predetermined target, thedevice may communicate with a system and unlock the access for the userto purchase a consumer product. Through these features, consumers areencouraged to share images and view shared images through augmentedreality software to determine if the image is a target image that willunlock access for consumer products or other desirable outcomes. Incertain aspects a user will only be able to determine if an imagecontains a target by viewing the image through a specific program. Assuch, users are encouraged to share images and view the images throughaugmented reality programs to determine whether images are target imagesthat will be recognized by the program. Further, in some aspects theprogram may only recognize targets when capturing images shown onanother user's device, such that each user may only gain access to theconsumer product by capturing images from the other's device. In certainembodiments an individual may be granted a first opportunity to sharethe image through an online platform, such as social media. Eachindividual who views the image through augmented reality software may begranted access to purchase a product.

Aspects of the disclosure also relate to a method that includesdetermining whether a geographic position of a mobile device of a useris located within a search area, providing information regarding aplurality of targets located at a plurality of different targetlocations within the search area, receiving a user selection of a firsttarget from the plurality of targets located at a first target location,monitoring the geographic position of the mobile device, providinginformation to the user to assist the user in locating the first target,and providing a reward to the user after the mobile device reaches thefirst target location. The reward may include access to purchase atangible consumer product or a voucher to purchase the product. Thetangible consumer product may be an article of apparel, such asfootwear. At least some of these actions may be performed by the mobiledevice, and in one embodiment, the geographic position is determined andmonitored by the mobile device in conjunction with an external device.

According to one aspect, the mobile device also receives user input toactivate the first target when the mobile device reaches the firsttarget location. The user input may include capturing (using a camera)an image of a physical object proximate the first target location.

According to another aspect, the target is a virtual object, and thedevice displays images captured by a camera and modifies the images toinclude a depiction of the virtual object, when the mobile devicereaches the first target location.

According to a further aspect, a limited inventory of the tangibleconsumer product may be associated with each of the plurality oftargets, and the information regarding the plurality of targets includesinformation indicating an amount of the limited inventory available foreach of the plurality of targets.

Further aspects of the disclosure relate to a method that includesdetermining that a geographic position of a mobile device of a user isnot located within a search area and that the geographic position of themobile device is located within a separate participation area, providinginformation regarding a plurality of primary users located within thesearch area who are searching for a first target located at a firsttarget location within the search area, receiving a user selection of afirst primary user from the plurality of primary users, providinginformation to the user about the first primary user, and providing areward to the user after the first primary user reaches the first targetlocation. The reward may include access to purchase a tangible consumerproduct or a voucher to purchase the tangible consumer product. Thetangible consumer product may be an article of apparel, such asfootwear. At least some of these actions may be performed by the mobiledevice, and in one embodiment, the geographic position is determined bythe mobile device in conjunction with an external device.

According to one aspect, the method also includes receiving user inputto provide assistance to the first primary user in searching for thefirst target.

According to another aspect, the method also includes displaying imagescaptured by a first primary user device of the first primary user duringsearching for the first target.

According to a further aspect, the method also includes providinginformation regarding a plurality of targets, including the firsttarget, located at a plurality of different target locations within thesearch area, receiving a user selection of the first target from theplurality of targets, providing information regarding a plurality ofprimary users, including the first primary user, searching for the firsttarget, and receiving a user selection of the first primary user fromthe plurality of primary users. In one configuration, a limitedinventory of the tangible consumer product is associated with each ofthe plurality of targets, and the information regarding the plurality oftargets includes information indicating an amount of the limitedinventory available for each of the plurality of targets. In thisconfiguration, the method may also include receiving an indication thatthe limited inventory for all of the plurality of targets has beenexhausted, and providing the reward to the user after all of the limitedinventory for all of the plurality of targets has been exhausted. Inanother configuration, the information regarding the plurality ofprimary users includes information indicating a proximity of each of theprimary users to the first target.

The method may further provide for use as an observer if the position ofthe mobile device is not located in the search area or the participationarea. An observing user may be provided with information regarding aplurality of targets located at a plurality of different targetlocations within the search area, and information regarding a pluralityof primary users searching for one or more of the targets. The observinguser may further be provided with the results of the search.

Other aspects of the disclosure relate to an apparatus, e.g., a mobiledevice, a server, or other computer device, that includes one or moreprocessors and memory storing computer-readable instructions that, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to perform(or assist in performing) part or all of any of the methods describedherein.

While described above in conjunction with offering access to purchase aconsumer product, aspects of this disclosure also may be practiced inconjunction with other features or functions upon recognition of atarget within in image. In some aspects the augmented reality programmay alter the display of the device upon recognition of a target in animage. Certain features may include altering the display to play avideo, to overlay a three-dimensional image, to alter the view of thecapture device, such as by changing certain aspects of the imagescaptured by the image capturing device. Indeed, the scope of thisdisclosure is not limited to unlocking access to purchasing a consumerproduct.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system that may be configured to providepersonal training and/or obtain data from the physical movements of auser in accordance with example embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example computer device that may be part of or incommunication with the system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative sensor assembly that may be worn by a userin accordance with example embodiments;

FIG. 4 shows another example sensor assembly that may be worn by a userin accordance with example embodiments;

FIG. 5 shows illustrative locations for sensory input which may includephysical sensors located on/in a user's clothing and/or be based uponidentification of relationships between two moving body parts of theuser;

FIGS. 6A through 6C illustrate various examples of hardware and overallnetworking systems that may be used to implement various examples of thedisclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a hardware and networking system thatmay be used to implement various examples of the disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart showing examples of performing stepsdiscussed in the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates another flowchart showing examples of performingsteps discussed in the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 illustrates another flowchart showing examples of performingsteps disclosed in the present disclosure, including the displaysassociated with the mobile devices;

FIG. 11 illustrates another flowchart showing examples of performingsteps disclosed in the present disclosure, including the displaysassociated with the mobile devices;

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of the displays that may be utilized bythe augmented reality program;

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a system for team-based virtualsearching using augmented reality in accordance with exampleembodiments;

FIG. 14 illustrates a method of virtual searching using augmentedreality using the system of FIG. 13, in accordance with exampleembodiments;

FIG. 15 illustrates a method of virtual searching using augmentedreality using the system of FIG. 13 from the perspective of the primaryuser device, in accordance with example embodiments;

FIG. 16 illustrates a method of virtual searching using augmentedreality using the system of FIG. 13 from the perspective of thesecondary user device, in accordance with example embodiments;

FIGS. 17A-B illustrate a method of virtual searching using augmentedreality using the system of FIG. 13 from the perspective of an devicesuch as a server, in accordance with example embodiments;

FIGS. 18A-C illustrate an example interface and user selectionprogression from the primary device in a method of virtual searchingusing augmented reality, in accordance with example embodiments;

FIG. 19 illustrates an example interface and user selection progressionfrom the secondary device in a method of virtual searching usingaugmented reality, in accordance with example embodiments;

FIGS. 20-26 illustrate virtual depictions of a city in a system andmethod of virtual searching, in accordance with example embodiments;

FIG. 27 illustrates a puzzle for completion by one or more users in asystem and method of virtual searching, in accordance with exampleembodiments;

FIGS. 28-30 illustrate an arrangement that is properly viewable from asingle perspective, in a system and method of virtual searching, inaccordance with example embodiments

FIGS. 31-36 illustrate an example embodiment of a method for virtualsearching that may use augmented reality, in accordance with exampleembodiments;

FIGS. 37-40 illustrate another example embodiment of a method forvirtual searching that may use augmented reality, in accordance withexample embodiments;

FIG. 41 illustrates an example of a system for virtual searching inaccordance with example embodiments that may be used in connection withthe method of FIGS. 31-36;

FIGS. 42-51 illustrate examples of display screens that may be providedon a mobile device in connection with the method of FIGS. 31-36; and

FIG. 52 illustrates a flowchart showing examples of performing stepsdiscussed in the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of this disclosure relate to searching for a target in aphysical and/or geographic space and providing rewards based on locatingand/or activating the target, which may be a virtual target or aphysical, tangible target. Some aspects involve using augmented realityfeatures to unlock selective access for purchasing consumer products,such as articles of footwear, articles of apparel, athletic equipment,or any other type of consumer product. The augmented reality featuresmay be given instructions to execute upon recognizing a target image. Insome aspects the target image may be shared through a platform, such asa social media platform. Users may use augmented reality features tosearch for images that are target images that will unlock access topurchase consumer products. Further aspects relate to using augmentedreality features to generate an output, such as for example, alteringthe output display of a mobile device based on recognizing a targetimages. Still further aspects relate to using information such aslocation information and user information for facilitating engagementand/or cooperation between users in searches and rewards, as well asobservation of users in such a search. These and other aspects will bediscussed in the context of the following illustrative examples of anaugmented reality program and a system for implementing.

In the following description of the various embodiments, reference ismade to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and inwhich is shown by way of illustration various embodiments in whichaspects of the disclosure may be practiced. It is to be understood thatother embodiments may be utilized and structural and functionalmodifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit ofthe present disclosure. Further, headings within this disclosure shouldnot be considered as limiting aspects of the disclosure and the exampleembodiments are not limited to the example headings.

I. Example Personal Training System

A. Illustrative Networks

Aspects of this disclosure relate to systems and methods that may beutilized across a plurality of networks. In this regard, certainembodiments may be configured to adapt to dynamic network environments.Further embodiments may be operable in differing discrete networkenvironments. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a personal trainingsystem 100 in accordance with example embodiments. Example system 100may include one or more interconnected networks, such as theillustrative body area network (BAN) 102, local area network (LAN) 104,and wide area network (WAN) 106. As shown in FIG. 1 (and describedthroughout this disclosure), one or more networks (e.g., BAN 102, LAN104, and/or WAN 106), may overlap or otherwise be inclusive of eachother. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the illustrativenetworks 102-106 are logical networks that may each comprise one or moredifferent communication protocols and/or network architectures and yetmay be configured to have gateways to each other or other networks. Forexample, each of BAN 102, LAN 104 and/or WAN 106 may be operativelyconnected to the same physical network architecture, such as cellularnetwork architecture 108 and/or WAN architecture 110. For example,portable electronic device 112, which may be considered a component ofboth BAN 102 and LAN 104, may comprise a network adapter or networkinterface card (NIC) configured to translate data and control signalsinto and from network messages according to one or more communicationprotocols, such as the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), the InternetProtocol (IP), and the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) through one or moreof architectures 108 and/or 110. These protocols are well known in theart, and thus will not be discussed here in more detail.

Network architectures 108 and 110 may include one or more informationdistribution network(s), of any type(s) or topology(s), alone or incombination(s), such as for example, cable, fiber, satellite, telephone,cellular, wireless, etc. and as such, may be variously configured suchas having one or more wired or wireless communication channels(including but not limited to: WiFi®, Bluetooth®, Near-FieldCommunication (NFC) and/or ANT technologies). Thus, any device within anetwork of FIG. 1, (such as portable electronic device 112 or any otherdevice described herein) may be considered inclusive to one or more ofthe different logical networks 102-106. With the foregoing in mind,example components of an illustrative BAN and LAN (which may be coupledto WAN 106) will be described.

1. Example Local Area Network

LAN 104 may include one or more electronic devices, such as for example,computer device 114. Computer device 114, or any other component ofsystem 100, may comprise a mobile terminal, such as a telephone, musicplayer, tablet, netbook or any portable device. In other embodiments,computer device 114 may comprise a media player or recorder, desktopcomputer, server(s), a gaming console, such as for example, a Microsoft®XBOX, Sony® Playstation, and/or a Nintendo® Wii gaming consoles. Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that these are merely example devicesfor descriptive purposes and this disclosure is not limited to anyconsole or computing device.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the design and structureof computer device 114 may vary depending on several factors, such asits intended purpose. One example implementation of computer device 114is provided in FIG. 2, which illustrates a block diagram of computingdevice 200. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the disclosureof FIG. 2 may be applicable to any device disclosed herein. Device 200may include one or more processors, such as processor 202-1 and 202-2(generally referred to herein as “processors 202” or “processor 202”).Processors 202 may communicate with each other or other components viaan interconnection network or bus 204. Processor 202 may include one ormore processing cores, such as cores 206-1 and 206-2 (referred to hereinas “cores 206” or more generally as “core 206”), which may beimplemented on a single integrated circuit (IC) chip.

Cores 206 may comprise a shared cache 208 and/or a private cache (e.g.,caches 210-1 and 210-2, respectively). One or more caches 208/210 maylocally cache data stored in a system memory, such as memory 212, forfaster access by components of the processor 202. Memory 212 may be incommunication with the processors 202 via a chipset 216. Cache 208 maybe part of system memory 212 in certain embodiments. Memory 212 mayinclude, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read onlymemory (ROM), and include one or more of solid-state memory, optical ormagnetic storage, and/or any other medium that can be used to storeelectronic information. Yet other embodiments may omit system memory212.

System 200 may include one or more I/O devices (e.g., I/O devices 214-1through 214-3, each generally referred to as I/O device 214). I/O datafrom one or more I/O devices 214 may be stored at one or more caches208, 210 and/or system memory 212. Each of I/O devices 214 may bepermanently or temporarily configured to be in operative communicationwith a component of system 100 using any physical or wirelesscommunication protocol.

Returning to FIG. 1, four example I/O devices (shown as elements116-122) are shown as being in communication with computer device 114.Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of devices116-122 may be stand-alone devices or may be associated with anotherdevice besides computer device 114. For example, one or more I/O devicesmay be associated with or interact with a component of BAN 102 and/orWAN 106. I/O devices 116-122 may include, but are not limited toathletic data acquisition units, such as for example, sensors. One ormore I/O devices may be configured to sense, detect, and/or measure anathletic parameter from a user, such as user 124. Examples include, butare not limited to: an accelerometer, a gyroscope, alocation-determining device (e.g., GPS), light (including non-visiblelight) sensor, temperature sensor (including ambient temperature and/orbody temperature), sleep pattern sensors, heart rate monitor,image-capturing sensor, moisture sensor, force sensor, compass, angularrate sensor, and/or combinations thereof among others.

In further embodiments, I/O devices 116-122 may be used to provide anoutput (e.g., audible, visual, or tactile cue) and/or receive an input,such as a user input from athlete 124. Example uses for theseillustrative I/O devices are provided below, however, those skilled inthe art will appreciate that such discussions are merely descriptive ofsome of the many options within the scope of this disclosure. Further,reference to any data acquisition unit, I/O device, or sensor is to beinterpreted disclosing an embodiment that may have one or more I/Odevice, data acquisition unit, and/or sensor disclosed herein or knownin the art (either individually or in combination).

Information from one or more devices (across one or more networks) maybe used to provide (or be utilized in the formation of) a variety ofdifferent parameters, metrics or physiological characteristics includingbut not limited to: motion parameters, such as speed, acceleration,distance, steps taken, direction, relative movement of certain bodyportions or objects to others, or other motion parameters which may beexpressed as angular rates, rectilinear rates or combinations thereof,physiological parameters, such as calories, heart rate, sweat detection,effort, oxygen consumed, oxygen kinetics, and other metrics which mayfall within one or more categories, such as: pressure, impact forces,information regarding the athlete, such as height, weight, age,demographic information and combinations thereof.

System 100 may be configured to transmit and/or receive athletic data,including the parameters, metrics, or physiological characteristicscollected within system 100 or otherwise provided to system 100. As oneexample, WAN 106 may comprise server 111. Server 111 may have one ormore components of system 200 of FIG. 2. In one embodiment, server 111comprises at least a processor and a memory, such as processor 206 andmemory 212. Server 111 may be configured to store computer-executableinstructions on a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Theinstructions may comprise athletic data, such as raw or processed datacollected within system 100. System 100 may be configured to transmitdata, such as energy expenditure points, to a social networking websiteor host such a site. Server 111 may be utilized to permit one or moreusers to access and/or compare athletic data. As such, server 111 may beconfigured to transmit and/or receive notifications based upon athleticdata or other information.

Returning to LAN 104, computer device 114 is shown in operativecommunication with a display device 116, an image-capturing device 118,sensor 120 and exercise device 122, which are discussed in turn belowwith reference to example embodiments. In one embodiment, display device116 may provide audio-visual cues to athlete 124 to perform a specificathletic movement. The audio-visual cues may be provided in response tocomputer-executable instruction executed on computer device 114 or anyother device, including a device of BAN 102 and/or WAN. Display device116 may be a touchscreen device or otherwise configured to receive auser-input.

In one embodiment, data may be obtained from image-capturing device 118and/or other sensors, such as sensor 120, which may be used to detect(and/or measure) athletic parameters, either alone or in combinationwith other devices, or stored information. Image-capturing device 118and/or sensor 120 may comprise a transceiver device. In one embodimentsensor 128 may comprise an infrared (IR), electromagnetic (EM) oracoustic transceiver. For example, image-capturing device 118, and/orsensor 120 may transmit waveforms into the environment, includingtowards the direction of athlete 124 and receive a “reflection” orotherwise detect alterations of those released waveforms. Those skilledin the art will readily appreciate that signals corresponding to amultitude of different data spectrums may be utilized in accordance withvarious embodiments. In this regard, devices 118 and/or 120 may detectwaveforms emitted from external sources (e.g., not system 100). Forexample, devices 118 and/or 120 may detect heat being emitted from user124 and/or the surrounding environment. Thus, image-capturing device 126and/or sensor 128 may comprise one or more thermal imaging devices. Inone embodiment, image-capturing device 126 and/or sensor 128 maycomprise an IR device configured to perform range phenomenology.

In one embodiment, exercise device 122 may be any device configurable topermit or facilitate the athlete 124 performing a physical movement,such as for example a treadmill, step machine, etc. There is norequirement that the device be stationary. In this regard, wirelesstechnologies permit portable devices to be utilized, thus a bicycle orother mobile exercising device may be utilized in accordance withcertain embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate thatequipment 122 may be or comprise an interface for receiving anelectronic device containing athletic data performed remotely fromcomputer device 114. For example, a user may use a sporting device(described below in relation to BAN 102) and upon returning home or thelocation of equipment 122, download athletic data into element 122 orany other device of system 100. Any I/O device disclosed herein may beconfigured to receive activity data.

2. Body Area Network

BAN 102 may include two or more devices configured to receive, transmit,or otherwise facilitate the collection of athletic data (includingpassive devices). Exemplary devices may include one or more dataacquisition units, sensors, or devices known in the art or disclosedherein, including but not limited to I/O devices 116-122. Two or morecomponents of BAN 102 may communicate directly, yet in otherembodiments, communication may be conducted via a third device, whichmay be part of BAN 102, LAN 104, and/or WAN 106. One or more componentsof LAN 104 or WAN 106 may form part of BAN 102. In certainimplementations, whether a device, such as portable device 112, is partof BAN 102, LAN 104, and/or WAN 106, may depend on the athlete'sproximity to an access point to permit communication with mobilecellular network architecture 108 and/or WAN architecture 110. Useractivity and/or preference may also influence whether one or morecomponents are utilized as part of BAN 102. Example embodiments areprovided below.

User 124 may be associated with (e.g., possess, carry, wear, and/orinteract with) any number of devices, such as portable device 112,shoe-mounted device 126, wrist-worn device 128 and/or a sensinglocation, such as sensing location 130, which may comprise a physicaldevice or a location that is used to collect information. One or moredevices 112, 126, 128, and/or 130 may not be specially designed forfitness or athletic purposes. Indeed, aspects of this disclosure relateto utilizing data from a plurality of devices, some of which are notfitness devices, to collect, detect, and/or measure athletic data. Incertain embodiments, one or more devices of BAN 102 (or any othernetwork) may comprise a fitness or sporting device that is specificallydesigned for a particular sporting use. As used herein, the term“sporting device” includes any physical object that may be used orimplicated during a specific sport or fitness activity. Exemplarysporting devices may include, but are not limited to: golf balls,basketballs, baseballs, soccer balls, footballs, powerballs, hockeypucks, weights, bats, clubs, sticks, paddles, mats, and combinationsthereof. In further embodiments, exemplary fitness devices may includeobjects within a sporting environment where a specific sport occurs,including the environment itself, such as a goal net, hoop, backboard,portions of a field, such as a midline, outer boundary marker, base, andcombinations thereof.

In this regard, those skilled in the art will appreciate that one ormore sporting devices may also be part of (or form) a structure andvice-versa, a structure may comprise one or more sporting devices or beconfigured to interact with a sporting device. For example, a firststructure may comprise a basketball hoop and a backboard, which may beremovable and replaced with a goal post. In this regard, one or moresporting devices may comprise one or more sensors, such as one or moreof the sensors discussed above in relation to FIGS. 1-3, that mayprovide information utilized, either independently or in conjunctionwith other sensors, such as one or more sensors associated with one ormore structures. For example, a backboard may comprise a first sensorconfigured to measure a force and a direction of the force by abasketball upon the backboard and the hoop may comprise a second sensorto detect a force. Similarly, a golf club may comprise a first sensorconfigured to detect grip attributes on the shaft and a second sensorconfigured to measure impact with a golf ball.

Looking to the illustrative portable device 112, it may be amulti-purpose electronic device, that for example, includes a telephoneor digital music player, including an IPOD®, IPAD®, or iPhone®, branddevices available from Apple, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. or Zune® orMicrosoft® Windows devices available from Microsoft of Redmond, Wash. Asknown in the art, digital media players can serve as an output device,input device, and/or storage device for a computer. Device 112 may beconfigured as an input device for receiving raw or processed datacollected from one or more devices in BAN 102, LAN 104, or WAN 106. Inone or more embodiments, portable device 112 may comprise one or morecomponents of computer device 114. For example, portable device 112 maybe include a display 116, image-capturing device 118, and/or one or moredata acquisition devices, such as any of the I/O devices 116-122discussed above, with or without additional components, so as tocomprise a mobile terminal.

a. Illustrative Apparel/Accessory Sensors

In certain embodiments, I/O devices may be formed within or otherwiseassociated with user's 124 clothing or accessories, including a watch,armband, wristband, necklace, shirt, shoe, or the like. These devicesmay be configured to monitor athletic movements of a user. It is to beunderstood that they may detect athletic movement during user's 124interactions with computer device 114 and/or operate independently ofcomputer device 114 (or any other device disclosed herein). For example,one or more devices in BAN 102 may be configured to function as anall-day activity monitor that measures activity regardless of the user'sproximity or interactions with computer device 114. It is to be furtherunderstood that the sensory system 302 shown in FIG. 3 and the deviceassembly 400 shown in FIG. 4, each of which are described in thefollowing paragraphs, are merely illustrative examples.

i. Shoe-Mounted Device

In certain embodiments, device 126 shown in FIG. 1, may comprisefootwear which may include one or more sensors, including but notlimited to those disclosed herein and/or known in the art. FIG. 3illustrates one example embodiment of a sensor system 302 providing oneor more sensor assemblies 304. Assembly 304 may comprise one or moresensors, such as for example, an accelerometer, gyroscope,location-determining components, force sensors and/or or any othersensor disclosed herein or known in the art. In the illustratedembodiment, assembly 304 incorporates a plurality of sensors, which mayinclude force-sensitive resistor (FSR) sensors 306; however, othersensor(s) may be utilized. Port 308 may be positioned within a solestructure 309 of a shoe, and is generally configured for communicationwith one or more electronic devices. Port 308 may optionally be providedto be in communication with an electronic module 310, and the solestructure 309 may optionally include a housing 311 or other structure toreceive the module 310. The sensor system 302 may also include aplurality of leads 312 connecting the FSR sensors 306 to the port 308,to enable communication with the module 310 and/or another electronicdevice through the port 308. Module 310 may be contained within a wellor cavity in a sole structure of a shoe, and the housing 311 may bepositioned within the well or cavity. In one embodiment, at least onegyroscope and at least one accelerometer are provided within a singlehousing, such as module 310 and/or housing 311. In at least a furtherembodiment, one or more sensors are provided that, when operational, areconfigured to provide directional information and angular rate data. Theport 308 and the module 310 include complementary interfaces 314, 316for connection and communication.

In certain embodiments, at least one force-sensitive resistor 306 shownin FIG. 3 may contain first and second electrodes or electrical contacts318, 320 and a force-sensitive resistive material 322 disposed betweenthe electrodes 318, 320 to electrically connect the electrodes 318, 320together. When pressure is applied to the force-sensitive material 322,the resistivity and/or conductivity of the force-sensitive material 322changes, which changes the electrical potential between the electrodes318, 320. The change in resistance can be detected by the sensor system302 to detect the force applied on the sensor 316. The force-sensitiveresistive material 322 may change its resistance under pressure in avariety of ways. For example, the force-sensitive material 322 may havean internal resistance that decreases when the material is compressed.Further embodiments may utilize “volume-based resistance”, which may beimplemented through “smart materials.” As another example, the material322 may change the resistance by changing the degree ofsurface-to-surface contact, such as between two pieces of the forcesensitive material 322 or between the force sensitive material 322 andone or both electrodes 318, 320. In some circumstances, this type offorce-sensitive resistive behavior may be described as “contact-basedresistance.”

ii. Wrist-Worn Device

As shown in FIG. 4, device 400 (which may resemble or comprise sensorydevice 128 shown in FIG. 1), may be configured to be worn by user 124,such as around a wrist, arm, ankle, neck or the like. Device 400 mayinclude an input mechanism, such as a depressible input button 402configured to be used during operation of the device 400. The inputbutton 402 may be operably connected to a controller 404 and/or anyother electronic components, such as one or more of the elementsdiscussed in relation to computer device 114 shown in FIG. 1. Controller404 may be embedded or otherwise part of housing 406. Housing 406 may beformed of one or more materials, including elastomeric components andcomprise one or more displays, such as display 408. The display may beconsidered an illuminable portion of the device 400. The display 408 mayinclude a series of individual lighting elements or light members suchas LED lights 410. The lights may be formed in an array and operablyconnected to the controller 404. Device 400 may include an indicatorsystem 412, which may also be considered a portion or component of theoverall display 408. Indicator system 412 can operate and illuminate inconjunction with the display 408 (which may have pixel member 414) orcompletely separate from the display 408. The indicator system 412 mayalso include a plurality of additional lighting elements or lightmembers, which may also take the form of LED lights in an exemplaryembodiment. In certain embodiments, indicator system may provide avisual indication of goals, such as by illuminating a portion oflighting members of indicator system 412 to represent accomplishmenttowards one or more goals. Device 400 may be configured to display dataexpressed in terms of activity points or currency earned by the userbased on the activity of the user, either through display 408 and/orindicator system 412.

A fastening mechanism 416 can be disengaged wherein the device 400 canbe positioned around a wrist or portion of the user 124 and thefastening mechanism 416 can be subsequently placed in an engagedposition. In one embodiment, fastening mechanism 416 may comprise aninterface, including but not limited to a USB port, for operativeinteraction with computer device 114 and/or devices, such as devices 120and/or 112. In certain embodiments, fastening member may comprise one ormore magnets. In one embodiment, fastening member may be devoid ofmoving parts and rely entirely on magnetic forces.

In certain embodiments, device 400 may comprise a sensor assembly (notshown in FIG. 4). The sensor assembly may comprise a plurality ofdifferent sensors, including those disclosed herein and/or known in theart. In an example embodiment, the sensor assembly may comprise orpermit operative connection to any sensor disclosed herein or known inthe art. Device 400 and or its sensor assembly may be configured toreceive data obtained from one or more external sensors.

iii. Apparel and/or Body Location Sensing

Element 130 of FIG. 1 shows an example sensory location which may beassociated with a physical apparatus, such as a sensor, data acquisitionunit, or other device. Yet in other embodiments, it may be a specificlocation of a body portion or region that is monitored, such as via animage capturing device (e.g., image capturing device 118). In certainembodiments, element 130 may comprise a sensor, such that elements 130 aand 130 b may be sensors integrated into apparel, such as athleticclothing. Such sensors may be placed at any desired location of the bodyof user 124. Sensors 130 a/b may communicate (e.g., wirelessly) with oneor more devices (including other sensors) of BAN 102, LAN 104, and/orWAN 106. In certain embodiments, passive sensing surfaces may reflectwaveforms, such as infrared light, emitted by image-capturing device 118and/or sensor 120. In one embodiment, passive sensors located on user's124 apparel may comprise generally spherical structures made of glass orother transparent or translucent surfaces which may reflect waveforms.Different classes of apparel may be utilized in which a given class ofapparel has specific sensors configured to be located proximate to aspecific portion of the user's 124 body when properly worn. For example,golf apparel may include one or more sensors positioned on the apparelin a first configuration and yet soccer apparel may include one or moresensors positioned on apparel in a second configuration.

FIG. 5 shows illustrative locations for sensory input (see, e.g.,sensory locations 130 a-130 o). In this regard, sensors may be physicalsensors located on/in a user's clothing, yet in other embodiments,sensor locations 130 a-130 o may be based upon identification ofrelationships between two moving body parts. For example, sensorlocation 130 a may be determined by identifying motions of user 124 withan image-capturing device, such as image-capturing device 118. Thus, incertain embodiments, a sensor may not physically be located at aspecific location (such as one or more of sensor locations 130 a-130 o),but is configured to sense properties of that location, such as withimage-capturing device 118 or other sensor data gathered from otherlocations. In this regard, the overall shape or portion of a user's bodymay permit identification of certain body parts. Regardless of whetheran image-capturing device is utilized and/or a physical sensor locatedon the user 124, and/or using data from other devices, (such as sensorysystem 302), device assembly 400 and/or any other device or sensordisclosed herein or known in the art is utilized, the sensors may sensea current location of a body part and/or track movement of the bodypart. In one embodiment, sensory data relating to location 130 m may beutilized in a determination of the user's center of gravity (a.k.a,center of mass). For example, relationships between location 130 a andlocation(s) 130 f/1301 with respect to one or more of location(s) 130m-130 o may be utilized to determine if a user's center of gravity hasbeen elevated along the vertical axis (such as during a jump) or if auser is attempting to “fake” a jump by bending and flexing their knees.In one embodiment, sensor location 1306 n may be located at about thesternum of user 124. Likewise, sensor location 130 o may be locatedapproximate to the naval of user 124. In certain embodiments, data fromsensor locations 130 m-130 o may be utilized (alone or in combinationwith other data) to determine the center of gravity for user 124. Infurther embodiments, relationships between multiple sensor locations,such as sensors 130 m-130 o, may be utilized in determining orientationof the user 124 and/or rotational forces, such as twisting of user's 124torso. Further, one or more locations, such as location(s), may beutilized as (or approximate) a center of moment location. For example,in one embodiment, one or more of location(s) 130 m-130 o may serve as apoint for a center of moment location of user 124. In anotherembodiment, one or more locations may serve as a center of moment ofspecific body parts or regions.

FIGS. 6A through 6C illustrate various examples of hardware systems onwhich systems and user interfaces according to this disclosure that maybe implemented and on which methods according to this disclosure may bepracticed. In an embodiment, multiple users may work together share andcapture target images using augmented reality programs.

FIG. 6A shows a first computing device 600 and a second computing device602 connected and in communication with one another via a network 604,such as via an internet connection, via a local area network (LAN), viaa wide area network (WAN), etc. The two computing devices 600 and 602may be located remotely from one another. In some aspects the computingdevice 600 and 602 may be mobile devices, such as cell phones ortablets. As shown in FIG. 6A, the two computing devices 600 and 602 eachestablish a communication channel within the network 604 and communicatewith a messaging server system 606 (comprising one or more servercomputers) that provide data or information about the target between thecomputing devices 600 and 602. Any desired communication link andcommunication protocol may be used to provide and control the dataexchange between computing devices 600 and 602. If desired, this sameserver system 606 may provide communication data between the users onthe computing devices 600 and 602 (such as textual message data, webcamdata, etc.) as will be described in more detail below. Alternatively, ifdesired, a separate communication link 608 may be provided to supporttransfer of communication data between the computing devices 600 and602.

Any desired types of computing devices 600 and 602 may be used withoutdeparting from this disclosure, such as any computing device capable ofestablishing a networked connection and/or a peer-to-peer connection andcapable of providing the necessary display, user interface, and inputcapabilities, as will be described in more detail below. Some morespecific examples of computing devices 600 and 602 that may be used insystems and methods in accordance with at least some examples of thisdisclosure include, but are not limited to: desktop computers, personalcomputers, laptop computers, palmtop computers, handheld computers,cellular telephones, personal digital assistants, computer workstations,televisions, and the like. Notably, the various computing devices 600,602, etc. may be in communication with the network 604 and the serversystem 606 in the same or different manners without departing from thisdisclosure. Moreover, the communicating computing devices 600, 602, etc.used to display and capture the target image may be the same type ordifferent types without departing from this disclosure (such as onedesktop computer and one cellular telephone device), and the computingdevices 600, 602, etc. may communicate with each other or with a systemdatabase 606 via the same communication channels or via differentcommunication channels (e.g., both users may connect to the systemdatabase through Wi-Fi, or one may connect to the system databasethrough Wi-Fi while the other connects through cellular data. In furtheraspects, computing devices may display target images via the sameapplications or via different applications (e.g., both users may displaythe target image through a single application, such as Instagram, orthrough different applications (such as one user through Instagram andanother user through a Facebook application, etc.).

Computing devices 600 and 602 that may be used in systems and methods inaccordance with examples of this disclosure may include one or moreinput devices and a data processing system (e.g., including one or moremicroprocessors). Examples of input devices that may be included withcomputing devices 600, 602 include, but are not limited to conventionalinput devices, such as: a keyboard (hard keyboard or soft keyboard); amouse, trackball, rollerball, touchpad, or other pointing device; astylus or other pen-type input device (e.g., for a tablet PC typecomputing device); a disk drive; a USB port; a network connection; ajoystick type controller; a telephone connection; an Ethernetconnection; voice recognition capabilities; etc. Also, any desired typeof display device may be provided for use in conjunction with thecomputing devices 600, 602 of systems and methods according to thisdisclosure, including display devices integrated with the computingdevice 600, 602 itself or display devices separate from the computingdevices 600, 602 but in communication therewith, such as projectordisplays, separate monitor displays, etc.

The computing devices 600 and 602 may be connected to the network 604 inany desired manner without departing from this disclosure, including inconventional manners that are known and used in the art, such as anyconventional wired or wireless connection and using any networkconnection protocol. The communication channel connection 608 betweenthe computing devices 600, 602 may be the same as or different from thesystem database connections without departing from this disclosure, andthis connection 608 may include technology that is conventional andknown in the art. In addition to various computer-to-computercommunication links that are known and used in the art for providinglive, real time communications between two (or more) computers, thecommunication channel connection 608 further may include other types ofcommunication channels between computers or users, such as an instantmessaging channel, a peer-to-peer messaging channel, a conventionaltelephone connection, etc. As another alternative, if desired, the userscould be located in close proximity to one another and may be allowed tocommunicate directly, in a face-to-face conversation, without the needfor a separate communication channel. The communication channel 608,when provided, may use all of the same hardware as involved in thetarget image data exchange, all different hardware, or a combinationthereof (e.g., some users using the same hardware, others usingdifferent hardware, etc.).

As described above (and as will be described in more detail below),systems and methods in accordance with examples of this disclosure willprovide a user interface display on the user's computing device 600,602. This interface will allow the user to see the target image and willallow the user to display the target image for another user to capture.The user interfaces on the various devices will be provided andcontrolled by one or more of the computing devices 600, 602 and/or bythe server system 606, and data for generating, maintaining, andreceiving input through the user interfaces will be generated andprovided via computer readable media included as part of or associatedwith one or more of the computing devices 600, 602 and/or the serversystem 606. Examples of such computer readable media include, but arenot limited to: computer-readable memories, both internal to a computer(e.g., hard drives) or separable from the computer (such as disks, solidstate or flash memory devices, data available over a networkedconnection, etc.), including any type of computer readable media that isconventionally known and used in the computer arts.

In the example overall system shown in FIG. 6A, the software forgenerating the user interface may reside on computer readable mediapresent on or available to any one of computing device 600, computingdevice 602, or server system 606. Alternatively, if desired, thesoftware, or at least some portion(s) thereof, may be reside on morethan one of, or all of computing device 600, computing device 602, orserver system 606. The sever system 606 may be operated and maintainedby the same organization(s) or individual(s) that operate and maintainat least one of the computing devices 600 and 602 and/or network 604, orthe server system 606 may be operated, controlled, and maintained by aparty separate from any or all of these entities. As some more specificexamples, server system 606 may be operated and maintained (and the userinterface software also may be operated and maintained) by one or moreentities whose products are being marketed and granted access throughthe augmented reality programs (e.g., a manufacturer, a retailer, avendor selected by a manufacturer or retailer, etc.).

Another example overall system set up is illustrated in FIG. 6B. Whilethe overall network features 604 may be the same as or similar to thosedescribed above in conjunction with FIG. 6A (e.g., LAN, WAN, internet,etc.), in this example set up, the separate and independent serversystem 606 is omitted. Rather, in the setup of FIG. 6B, at least one ofthe two computing devices 600, 602 (and optionally both computingdevices 600, 602) drives the data exchange communications and includesthe software for generating and controlling the user interface.

If desired, the networked communication between the users to exchangedata may include features that allow the users to communicate with oneanother about the target image. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6B, aseparate user communication link 608 is illustrated. In addition tovarious computer-to-computer communication links that are known and usedin the art for providing live, real time communications between two (ormore) computers, the communication channel connection 608 further mayinclude other types of communication channels between computers orusers, such as an instant messaging channel, a peer-to-peer messagingchannel, a conventional telephone connection, etc. As anotheralternative, if desired, the users could be located in close proximityto one another and may be allowed to communicate directly, in aface-to-face conversation, without the need for a separate communicationchannel 608. The communication channel 608 may use the same or differenthardware from that used in the target image data exchange.

Collaboration between users to display and capture the target imagesalso may take place, in at least some systems and methods in accordancewith this disclosure, via direct communication between computing devicesin a peer-to-peer manner, as shown in FIG. 6C. Any desired hardwareand/or protocols for this type of peer-to-peer communication may be usedwithout departing from this disclosure, including conventional hardwareand protocols as are known and used in the computer communications art.Also, as with the examples of FIGS. 6A and 6B described above, aseparate user communication channel connection 608 may be provided(e.g., for instant messaging, additional peer-to-peer messaging, aconventional telephone connection (which may use different hardware fromthat involved in inputting or capturing the target image data), etc.).The various other alternatives as described above for FIGS. 6A and 6Balso may be used in the setup of FIG. 6C without departing from thisdisclosure.

FIGS. 8-9 illustrate example embodiments for methods of using augmentedreality programs to capture target images and upon verifying thecaptured image is a target image, performing a predefined output such asunlocking access to purchase a consumer product. The steps shown inthese example flow charts may be executed by a single computing device,such as processors included in the first mobile device 705 or secondmobile device 706. Alternatively, execution of the steps may occurthrough only one of the first mobile device or second mobile device, orin combination with a system database 707. In some aspects the stepswill be performed in order, but in other aspects steps may be performedin a different order or concurrently. For example, in some embodiments,captures may be performed by either of the user device, that captureinformation communicated to a system database, where the system databasethen determines if the capture information is recognized as a targetimage and responding to the user device with instructions. However, inother embodiments, the system database may communicate target imageinformation and instructions to the mobile device prior to the userdevice capturing an image. Therefore the capturing of the target image,recognition of the target image, and execution of the instructions mayall be performed at either user device 705 or 706.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary system for implementing the presentdisclosure. As shown in FIG. 7, two user devices may comprise a userinterface and a capture device. The user interface may include both adisplay and an input mechanism, where the input mechanism may be abutton, touchscreen, or other way to input information. The imagecapture devices, 702 and 704, may include one or more video cameras. Theimage capture devices may be configured to capture or record images orvideo, including recording or capturing the user interface display, 701and 703, of the other user's device. The user devices may be connectedthrough a network to a system database which can analyze the capturedimages or video to determine if a target image is recognized, and sendfurther instructions to the user devices upon confirming recognition ofthe target image.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary flowchart of steps that certainembodiments may take. First, at step 801, an image may be shared throughan online platform. In some aspects this online platform may be a socialmedia platform, such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or anyother social media platform. The image may include target information tobe recognized by a capturing device. The image may be shared by a firstuser through their social media account. As a next step, at 802 theimage may be displayed on a first device. This may include through asecond user's social media account. In some aspects a first user mayshare an image through an online platform and a second user may view theimage using the same social media platform or through a different socialmedia platform.

At the next step 803, a second device may capture the image anddetermine whether it recognizes the image. In some aspects the seconddevice may use a camera to take still images or record video of theimage. Upon capturing the image, the second device may communicate witha database to determine whether it recognizes the image as a target. Ifthe device confirms recognition of the target image it may receiveinstructions upon recognizing the image at step 804. The instructionsmay include unlocking access to allow the user of the second device topurchase a consumer product. In some aspects step 805 may involvealtering a display of the second device based on the instructions. Thismay include overlaying a consumer product on the display, or changingthe display such as by presenting a message or video to a consumer, oraltering recognized and/or captured images.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary flowchart showing steps that certainembodiments may take. First, at step 901, an image may be displayed on afirst device. In some aspects this display may occur through an onlineplatform, such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or any othersocial media platform. The image may include target information to berecognized by a capturing device. At step 902, the image may then becaptured using a second device, including through the second device'scamera or image capturing device, or through sharing by a first userthrough their social media account. The device may then recognize thetarget image at step 903. Upon recognition of the target image, thedevice may communicate through a network with a system or a database atstep 904. At step 905, the device may receive instructions from thesystem or database to grant the user access to purchase a consumerproduct. Upon receiving these instructions, at step 906 the seconddevice may overlay an image of the consumer product on the displayimage. For example, the device may overlay a three-dimensional projectedrepresentation of the consumer product that will be unlocked. In thisregard, the image may be overlaid on the recognized target, so that asthe user moves the camera around, the projected representation willmove, allowing the user to see different angles of the product. At afinal step 907, the device may grant the user access to purchase theconsumer product that has been unlocked.

In some aspects of the present disclosure, a first individual may sharean image through a platform, where a second individual is able to viewthat image on a mobile device. In some aspects the platform may be asocial media platform. By viewing the image on a display on their mobiledevice, the second individual is able to share the image with a thirdindividual. The third individual may then use an image capture device tocapture the image as it displayed on the second individual's mobiledevice. Upon recognition of the captured image, the third individual'sdevice may grant the third individual access to purchase a consumerproduct.

In some aspects a user may use a mobile device to capture images, suchas through a camera or other image capture means. In some aspects theimages may be still images, or the device may be configured to capturevideos. In certain embodiments the user may use a mobile device tocapture images of the surrounding environment. The mobile device mayalso have a user interface including a display. In some aspects the userinterface and camera may be configured to simultaneously display whatthe camera is recording on the user interface.

In some embodiments the mobile device may include augmented realityprograms. In these embodiments a user may use the camera on their mobiledevice to capture images in their environment. The captured images maybe simultaneously outputted on the user interface display. In someaspects the mobile device may be configured to recognize target imageswhen captured by the mobile device camera. Upon recognition of thesetarget images, the mobile device may communicate through a network witha system database and confirm recognition of the target image. Thedevice may then receive instructions from the system database uponconfirmation of the target image.

In different embodiments the instructions may instruct the mobile devicethrough the augmented reality program to overlay a three-dimensionalprojection on top of the target image being displayed on the userinterface. In certain aspects this projection may be a consumer product.The projection may represent a consumer product available for the userto purchase. In some aspects the user interface may allow the user tointeract with the projected product. This interaction may include a userinput such as a button or the user interface may be touch-screen andallow the user to click on the projected product by touching it. Afterinteracting with the projected product the mobile device may grant theuser access to purchase the projected product.

In some examples the system may offer other outcomes upon capturing andrecognizing the target image. For example, in some aspects the user maycapture an image through a camera, and after recognizing the image ascontaining a target, the mobile device may change the outputted displayin response to recognizing the target image. As examples, the displaymay continue to output what is being captured by the camera, but maychange the outputted display based on recognition of additional targets.In some aspects, the device may recognize a type of product, a brandlogo, numbers, designs, letters, or any other target and replace thattarget on the outputted display. As an example, the user may be in astore, and using the camera to capture the inside of a store. The mobiledevice may be configured to recognize a particular logo on a product,and then output on the display the images captured by the camera butreplace the recognized logos on the display with an image or message forthe user.

In certain aspects users may share images through social mediaplatforms. Individuals may then see the images on the social mediathrough displays on their mobile device. An individual who sees theimage may share it with a friend, who may look at it through an imagecapturing device having augmented reality capabilities. Upon recognizingthe image, the software may display a three-dimensional product of aconsumer product overlaid on the image. This would indicate that theuser capturing the image has been granted access to purchase theconsumer product shown. In this aspect the user may then choose tosearch for the image on their social media accounts and share it withtheir friends, who may use a mobile device with augmented realitycapabilities to capture the image and gain access to purchase theproduct as well.

In some embodiments, a first individual may share an image throughsocial media, where that image includes target information that unlocksaccess for purchasing consumer products. A second individual may viewthat image on a mobile device having a display. A third individual maycapture that image on a mobile device having image capturingcapabilities, where through capturing the image the device recognizesthat image and unlocks access for the third individual to purchase aconsumer product. In some aspects the system may recognize that theimage has been shared and/or captured from another mobile device. Inthese aspects, the access may be limited to capture from anotherindividual's phone, or from a certain social media application. Thenumber of users who are granted to access to the product may be limited,such that only a certain number of user are granted access before theproduct is sold out. The system may limit the number of times an imagecan be shared and still unlock access to the product.

In some embodiments the target image may be shared through social media.Individuals may view the target image through social media accounts.Individuals who view the target image may share the images with friends,who may then capture the image using a camera on a mobile device. Thecamera may recognize the target image through an augmented realityprogram, and upon recognizing the target image receive instructions froma system database. These instructions may include overlaying a consumerproduct projection onto a user interface on the user's device, andunlocking access to the user to purchase the consumer product.

In some aspects the camera may only recognize the target image when itis displayed on another device's screen. In these aspects, access theconsumer product will not be unlocked unless the target image iscaptured from another user's screen. In these examples individuals areencouraged to share the target image with each other. One user may bringthe target image up on their mobile device so that another user maycapture it and unlock the consumer product. The second user may open thetarget image on their mobile device so the first user may capture andunlock the consumer product.

In example embodiments, a user's computing device (which may be mobile,stationary, and/or located in a commercial or private setting) maycomprise one or more non-transitory computer-readable mediums thatcomprise computer-executable instructions that when executed by aprocessor, cause the device to capture an image of a second mobiledevice, and upon capturing that image recognizing that image as aninstruction. The mobile device may then communicate through a networkwith an external system. Upon verifying the captured image, the systemmay unlock the mobile device access to purchase a consumer product.

Granting access to consumer products through augmented realityencourages users to share images and be on the hunt for targets innearly any image. For example, if a user knows that a certaininfluencer, such as a famous athlete, is releasing a product or endorsesa product, that user may scan the athlete's social media accounts to seeif any images shared by the athlete have a target that would unlockaccess to purchase the products. In different aspects this may befootwear, jerseys, apparel, sports equipment, or any other consumerproduct. It also encourages users to share images among their friends,in the hope that they're able to find target images and capture themusing each other mobile device, such as smartphones.

In some embodiments product launches may be rolled out through socialmedia. In these aspects, a product may be announced, but it there is notan announcement about when the product will be released. Rather, animage containing the target information that will unlock access topurchase the product may be given to an influencer, such as an athlete,chef, social media personality, business person, celebrity, etc. Theaugmented reality program may then be configured to recognize the targetimage when it is captured using a mobile device. The influencer may thenshare the product on social media. In some aspects the influencer maynot announce that the image contains target data. Rather, consumers areencouraged to look at images using the augmented reality program to findimages with target information. After discovering that an image containstarget information that will unlock access to a new product or performsome other function, the user is encouraged to share the image withtheir friends, including through social media. In these aspects, theimage will be shared organically through word of mouth as individualsdiscover that the image has unlock capabilities and share the image.

In some aspects the augmented reality program will be utilized to workon mobile devices, including smartphones, such as an Apple iPhone or anAndroid phone, tablets, laptops, computers, gaming systems, musicplayers, e-readers, or any other mobile electronic device capable ofcapturing images.

In certain aspects the target image may be a tangible item. As anexample, the target image may be a restaurant menu. The augmentedreality program may then be configured to recognize when the restaurantmenu is captured by the mobile device, and unlock access to purchase aconsumer product. In some aspects the mobile device may overlay aprojected image on the display as it is capturing the target image. Asshown in FIGS. 11 and 12, this projected image may be a shoe that willbe unlocked for the user to purchase. Upon discovering that a tangibleitem is a target image recognized by the augmented reality program, auser may capture and share an image of the tangible item, including withtheir friends and through social media platforms. Other users who viewthe image may than capture the image using augmented reality programs ontheir mobile devices to unlock access to purchase the consumer item orreceive whatever other output the mobile device is configured to performupon capturing and recognizing the target image.

Through these features, users are encouraged to share target images upondiscovering them. For example, if a target image is a menu for arestaurant with limited locations, consumers who do not visit one of therestaurant locations would be unable to capture the menu using augmentedreality programs. As such, consumers would otherwise be denied access topurchase consumer products that are unlocked through capturing thatmenu. However, by encouraging users to share images of the target, usersmay unlock access to these products without viewing a tangible item thatis the target image in real life.

Certain embodiments may also include features to encourage users toshare target images with their friends and through social media. Forexample, users may be granted further access to specific products basedon sharing target images a number of times, or having other individualscapture target images they have shared. As other examples, users may begranted sales offers, store credit, consumer products, reward points, orsocial media rewards.

In some aspects the user interface on the mobile device may include auser input option. When the target image is captured and recognized bythe augmented reality program, the user interface display may prompt theuser to provide an input to unlock the product. In some aspects afterunlocking the product the mobile device may connect to an online store,whereby the user may purchase the unlocked product.

In different embodiments after unlocking and purchasing the product, theuser may be encouraged to share information about their purchase, suchas through social media. In some examples this may be a predeterminedmessage that states which product the user purchased, and/or where theuser found the target image. By sharing this information, the user mayinstruct other users to seek out the target image. In the example of arestaurant menu, the user's message that they purchased a product thatthey unlocked through capturing a target image that was a menu, otherusers interested in unlocking and purchasing the product are encouragedto visit the restaurant or view the menu through other means, such asonline or social media. In different examples the user's message aboutpurchasing a product may be shared through social media such asInstagram, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or any other social mediaplatform.

Further aspects of this disclosure may include communication between thepersonal device back to the system database. Upon unlocking access to aconsumer product and/or finalizing the purchase of that product, themobile device may communicate information to other mobile devices or tothe system database. In some aspects this information may includedemographic information about the user, information about the purchase,such as size, color, geographic location of the user, or any otherinformation relating to the user or the purchase. This information maybe shared with the seller of the product who may maintain an informationdatabase comprising information about the products and users that havesuccessfully unlocked and purchased products through the augmentedreality programs.

Aspects discussed in the present disclosure encourage collaborationbetween sellers and influencers. Influencers may be athletes, chefs,social media personalities, business people, celebrities, etc., that arelooking to increase their personal brand, including through socialmedia. As such, influencers who are known for releasing target imagesthat unlock high-demand product are going to increase their followersand social interaction with fans and the public. Relatedly, sellers areable to spread their products, messages, and awareness more organicallythrough influencer releasing target images.

Virtual Object Searching with Augmented Reality

The systems and methods described herein may further be used inconnection with a system and method for hunting or searching for targetin the form of a virtual object in a geographical space, which may alsobe known as geocaching. This system and method may use augmented realityas described herein, and may offer rewards for locating the object,which may vary or depend on the time taken to locate the object. Theprimary user or searcher physically travels to the location of thevirtual object, assisted by GPS data and optionally, augmented reality(AR) and/or assistance from secondary users. FIGS. 13-30 illustrateexemplary embodiments of systems and methods for searching for a virtualobject, and it is understood that these embodiments may be used inconjunction with any systems, architecture, methods, and/or featuresdescribed herein and shown in FIGS. 1-12.

The virtual object may take nearly any desired form, and in oneembodiment, may be a depiction of or related to the reward offered, suchas a product related to the reward. The virtual object may be a targetimage as described herein. The virtual object may be located at the sameor proximate location of a real object (e.g., landmark, statue, etc.)and may be related to the real object in one embodiment. The rewardoffered may be tied to the location of the virtual object, such that allusers searching for that reward in the same area will be given the samelocation for the virtual object. The location of the virtual object maynot be related to the reward in other embodiments, and may be unique toeach search session, such as the location being assigned randomly orbased on information about the users. For example, the location of theobject may be based on preferences of one or more users, e.g., favoritelocations, activities, products, colors, etc., or based on the locationsof the user(s). In another embodiment, the target may not be a virtualobject, and may be an actual object that the user may image capture or aspecific geographic location that the user may need to reach, andaugmented reality features may be used in locating and/or activatingtargets that are not in the form of virtual objects.

Completion of the search and locating the virtual object may result inrewards being made available to some or all users involved in thesearch. In one embodiment, the reward may be an unlocked ability, suchas the ability to purchase a specific product, which may be a newlyreleased or limited availability product. In other embodiment, thereward may be a real or virtual gift, such as a product, currency,credits, profile status changes, etc. The reward provided to each userteammate may be the same in one embodiment, or may vary based ondifferent characteristics, such as user selection or preferences, teamcontribution, or other information.

FIG. 13 illustrates one embodiment of a system 1300 in which a primaryuser or “searcher” having a primary device 1301 cooperates in the searchwith one or more remote secondary users or “squad mates” each having asecondary device 1302. The primary user in this embodiment physicallysearches for the virtual object or other target in the geographicalspace by moving his/her location to the location of the virtual object.The secondary users can assist the primary user in the search by varioustechniques, as described in greater detail herein. The devices 1301,1302, the Network, and the system database 1307 in this embodiment mayutilize any of the components and features of devices, networks, andservers/databases described herein. For example, in one embodiment, theprimary device 1301 may include at least a processor, a memory, adisplay, a capture device (e.g., a camera), a GPS sensor, a transceiver,and one or more I/O devices, as well as associated software to supportthe same. As another example, in one embodiment, each secondary device1302 may include at least a processor, a memory, a display, atransceiver, and one or more I/O devices, as well as associated softwareto support the same. As a further example, various computer processing(analysis, determination, etc.) described herein may be conducted at thedevices 1301, 1302, at the system database 1307 (which may be part of aserver 111), or at other devices in communication with the devices 1301,1302 and/or the system database 1307 or server 111. It is understoodthat the processor 202 of each computer device may be used for suchprocessing, and that exchange of information may be performed bytransmitting and receiving from such devices.

FIG. 14 illustrates one general embodiment of a method for searching fora virtual object using the system 1300 of FIG. 13. FIG. 15 illustratesone embodiment of this method from the perspective of the primary device1301, and FIG. 18 illustrates an example interface and user selectionprogression from the primary device 1301. FIG. 16 illustrates oneembodiment of this method from the perspective of the secondary device1302, and FIG. 19 illustrates an example interface and user selectionprogression from the secondary device 1302. FIG. 19 illustrates oneembodiment of this method from the perspective of the server or systemdatabase 1307.

In the embodiment of FIG. 14, the search session begins, for examplewith the primary user device 1301 initiating the session, and thesearching group or team is created, at 1401. In one embodiment, theprimary device 1301 may be near the geographical location of the objectbefore the session is initiated or before the group is available forother users to join. For example, geographical restrictions may beplaced on the primary user, such as minimum distance from the objectlocation or presence within a select city or area of the city.Initiation of a session may also require selection of the virtual objectand/or the reward for location of the object (e.g., selection of aproduct purchase to unlock), as multiple different searches may be madeavailable with multiple different objects, locations, time limits, andrewards. Item 1801 in FIG. 18 illustrates an example of a screen forselection of a specific search, and items 1802 and 1803 illustrateexamples of screens for initiating the session. The primary device 1301receives and/or displays additional information related to the search(e.g., primary device 1301 GPS location, GPS location information forvirtual object, proximity data, etc.), at 1402. Items 1802-1804illustrate the screen displaying GPS location for the primary device1301, as well as a map of the city and locations of other primary users,which can be zoomed in or out as desired.

One or more secondary users can join the group, using secondary devices1302, at remote locations, at 1403. The primary device 1301 may receivea notification that the secondary user(s) have joined the group, such asby graphical depiction of the avatar(s) of the secondary user(s) asshown in item 1804 in FIG. 18. Each secondary device 1302 may receiveand/or display information related to the search, before and/or afterjoining the group, at 1404, and the information may be different fromthe information received and/or displayed by the primary device 1301.Information that is valuable to the secondary user prior to joining thegroup may include nature of the reward, identity of the primary user, orstatus of the search (e.g., progress, proximity to object, or timeremaining). After joining the group, the secondary user(s) can thenassist the primary user in the search at 1405, offering various types ofassistance as described herein. Once the primary user reaches thelocation of the virtual object, at 1406, the virtual object can beactivated, at 1407. Activation of the virtual object may be automatic ormay require actions on the part of the users, as described herein. Oncethe virtual object is activated, rewards may be made available to theusers, at 1408, thereby completing the search session.

In one embodiment, the search may be provided in multiple segments,having sequential “checkpoints,” eventually leading to the location ofthe virtual object. In one embodiment, reaching one checkpoint unlocksthe location of the next sequential checkpoint and/or information aboutthe next checkpoint, such that the checkpoints must be done in order. Inanother embodiment, the checkpoints can be reached in any order, but allcheckpoints (or a minimum number of checkpoints) must be reached beforethe virtual object is located or activated. Reaching all checkpoints mayunlock the location and/or information about the location of the virtualobject. The secondary users may assist in finding the checkpoints, andin one embodiment, each checkpoint may rely on assistance from adifferent secondary user, e.g., clues provided exclusively to that useror information related to that user. Additionally, the checkpoints maybe related to the secondary users, such as based on user preferences orcharacteristics.

Image Capture and Sharing

The primary user may have the ability to provide image capture to thesecondary users during the search, and such image capture may benecessary to locating and/or activating the object in one embodiment.This ability may be selectable on the primary device 1301. The capturedevice on the primary device 1301 may capture point-of-view video orpictures, which are provided on the display of the primary device 1301and/or the display of each secondary device 1302 for viewing by thesecondary users. The primary device 1301 may also be configured toprovide other images, such as “selfie” pictures, and the secondarydevice(s) 1302 may likewise be configured to provide images for viewingby the other devices. The images may be modified with augmented reality,such as showing the virtual object, assistance information, or variousother images to assist with searching, entertain the users, and/orotherwise enhance the experience. Additionally, the images displayed ondifferent devices 1301, 1302 may be the same in one embodiment, or mayinclude different augmented reality in another embodiment. The imagesprovided on the secondary devices 1302 may improve the ability of thesecondary users to assist the primary user. In one embodiment, theprimary device 1301 may only give the option to provide images inproximity to the object location, and in another embodiment, the primarydevice 1301 is required to provide images when in close proximity to theobject location. Location of the object may be performed by depiction ofthe object in augmented reality on the display of the devices 1301,1302, and unlocking the object may also require images from the primarydevice 1302.

Secondary User Assistance

The secondary user can assist the primary user using various techniques,both active and passive. The assistance provided by the secondaryuser(s) may be in locating the object and/or activating the object oncelocated. As one example, the secondary user may have the ability to“ping” the object, briefly revealing the location to the primary user.Item 1905 in FIG. 19 illustrates the secondary user manually pinging theobject, by using a button on the secondary device 1302. Item 1805 inFIG. 18 illustrates the depiction of the ping on the primary device1301. The ping is depicted as a Doppler ping in FIGS. 18-19, but may bein a different form in another embodiment, such as an arrow or otherdirectional indication, which may vary in precision. Secondary users mayhave a limited number of pings each and/or a “cooldown” between pings,such that a larger number of secondary users is more effective inlocating the object. A final ping may be required to locate the objecteven when the user is in the vicinity of the object, as shown in item1808 in FIG. 18. The secondary user may be able to provide differentassistance to the primary user, such as text or audio information ordirections to the object. For example, the secondary users may beindividually and sequentially provided with information regarding theobject's location for a limited time period, such that only a singlesecondary user is providing assistance at one time. As another example,each secondary user may be provided with different information relatedto the location, which may provide some information regarding the objectlocation, such as clues. The clues may be provided to the secondaryusers and/or may relate to information about the secondary user, such aslocation, personal characteristics or preferences, etc. In oneembodiment, the secondary user may need to perform an action in order toobtain a clue, such as providing information or answering a quizquestion. In another embodiment, the number and/or quality of the cluesprovided may depend on information related to the reward, such as pastproduct purchases, level of sport or other activity participation, orusage of specific product-related or fitness-related applications.Assistance by secondary users may be compulsory in one embodiment, suchthat a clue or other assistance must be given by each of the secondaryusers before the object can be located and/or unlocked.

Passive assistance may be provided in several ways. In one example, thenumber of the secondary users may affect the quality of the assistanceprovided. With additional secondary users, the visibility of the objectmay be improved, the preciseness of “pings” may be improved, and/or therequired proximity to activate the object may be decreased. In anotherexample, the characteristics of the secondary users may affect thequality of the assistance provided, or the assistance may be directlyrelated to such characteristics. Secondary user assistance in activatingthe object is described elsewhere herein.

Group Creation and Assembly

The information provided to the secondary users when selecting a groupmay illustrate the proximity of each primary user to the object locationor, for a multi-segment search, how many segments the primary user hasalready completed. This information may be enhanced by augmented realityin one embodiment, and these augmented reality images may be provided tothe primary device 1301 for use or viewing by the primary user as well.For example, item 1902 in FIG. 19 illustrates a virtual 3-D city, withavatars of different primary users, proximity indicators for determiningproximity to the object location, and an image of the object at theobject location. The user may view different portions of the virtualcity by changing the orientation or perspective of the device 1301,1302, which changes the virtual display accordingly. Brief informationabout each user may be obtained by selection, such as shown in FIG. 25,where selection of one primary user illustrates the number of memberscurrently in the group and the number of available group slots. FIGS.20-22 illustrate another embodiment of a virtual 3-D city that may beprovided, with example virtual size dimensions. The augmented realityimages may further be made relative to real objects. For example, asshown in FIG. 26, the virtual city may be a virtual reproduction of anactual city, with various architectural and land features depicted. Asanother example, as shown in FIG. 23, when the object location coincideswith the location of a real object (e.g., a fountain in a park), primaryuser proximity to the fountain is indicated. The augmented realityimages may further incorporate other artwork or styling, such as shownin FIG. 25, which depicts the object location with a tower that risesabove all other virtual buildings in the area.

In one embodiment, the group is open to any secondary users who wish tojoin the group until the maximum number is reached, i.e., the group isfull. The secondary users may be provided the option to select among anumber of different groups, and may be provided information related tothe session, such as information regarding the primary user, the primaryuser's location, the location of the object, details of the reward, thecomposition of the group, etc. Items 1901-1904 in FIG. 19 illustrateinformation provided to the secondary user and the process of joining agroup. At item 1901, the secondary user is provided with the option forselection of the reward, and at item 1902, the secondary user isprovided with an AR depiction of primary users conducting searches forthe same reward, including a depiction of a virtual city, the locationof the object, and avatars and locations of the primary users. Thesecondary user may be able to select different primary users and groupsto view additional details. For example, at item 1903, the secondaryuser has selected a primary user who has a full group that cannot bejoined, and at item 1904, the secondary user has selected a primary userwho has a group with an open slot, allowing the secondary user to join.

In another embodiment, personal relationships may influence groupforming, and various social media platforms and networks may be used forthis purpose. Integration with such platforms and networks may be usedas well. For example, users may be incentivized or required to joingroups that include other users on their friend list. As anotherexample, users may be prohibited from joining groups that include otherson their friend list, or limits on the number of connected users in asingle group may be applied.

In another embodiment, secondary users may be open to select from one ormore groups freely, but may be restricted from joining certain groupsbased on certain criteria, such as characteristics of the secondary useror the primary user, location of the object, nature of the reward,previous participation, etc. In another embodiment, the primary user maybe provided some input or authority over which secondary user(s) jointhe group, such as requiring primary user approval or by selection ofthe secondary user(s) by the primary user. In this embodiment,information regarding a prospective secondary user would be madeavailable to the primary user. Secondary users already in the group maybe provided similar input or authority over joining by additionalsecondary users. In a further embodiment, secondary users may beautomatically assigned to various groups, either randomly or based onvarious characteristics. Examples of such characteristics includeinformation about the primary user or secondary user as describedherein, group makeup and characteristics, status of the search (e.g.,progress or distance from the object location), etc. The automatic groupassignment may be made with objectives such as group diversity or groupstrength as also described herein.

In another embodiment, group capacity may change based on variousconditions. For example, group capacity may depend on thecharacteristics of the primary user and/or secondary users already inthe group, such as brand loyalty, knowledge, experience, participation,application usage, activity level, etc. As another example, groupcapacity may increase as the primary user approaches the objectlocation. As a further example, additional group participation may beprevented when the primary user is proximate to the object location, inorder to encourage effort and participation in the search by secondaryusers.

The group matching process may be configured to incentivize a particulargroup makeup, such as group diversity, group completeness, contributionsfrom all group members, user satisfaction, brand loyalty, and othergoals. Incentives may be positive or negative in nature. Group diversitymay incorporate geographic diversity (i.e., users from diverse locationsthroughout the country or world). For example, secondary users indifferent locations may be provided with different clues for assistance,such that a geographically diverse team will possess more clues.Geographic diversity may be enforced by requirement in another example,such that users from one location are prohibited from joining a groupwith users from the same location. Group diversity may also incorporatediversity of knowledge and experience. For example, if quiz questionsare presented to progress the search, having a team with a diverseknowledge base may improve the ability to answer such questions. Asanother example, groups may be incentivized or required to include userswith both high and low levels of knowledge or experience. Brand loyaltymay be incentivized by granting brand-loyal users greater choice injoining groups or granting improved group rewards based on brandloyalty. Group completeness may be incentivized by requiring a certainnumber of group members in order to locate and/or activate the object orincreasing the ease or time limit for doing so with an increased numberof group members.

Each user may be provided with a profile that includes information suchas location, preferences, participation in sports or other activities,usage of specific product-related or fitness-related applications,personal product inventory (e.g., a listing of all of the shoes owned bythe user), areas of specific knowledge or experience, brand-loyal (i.e.,“VIP”) status, etc. This profile information is made available to otherusers when forming the group, to enhance group selection anddifferentiate users. For example, if a diverse team improves theavailable assistance or ease of object location, users may wish to knowthe information necessary to form a diverse group. Such profileinformation may be searchable by other users in forming a group in oneembodiment. Various indicators may also be used to convey profileinformation to other users in one embodiment, for example, “skillpoints” or other point-based systems, colors or icons to signifyparticular information such as status, location, knowledge, experience,etc. Such indicators may be icons, colors, highlighting, or other visualindicators.

Scavenger Hunt

In another embodiment, the primary user may be required to take aspecific route to the location of the virtual object or other target,which may be accomplished using a “checkpoint” system as describedherein, by a GPS guidance system, or other techniques, similar to ascavenger hunt. Additionally, the system may require specific athleticactivities to be performed along the route, or along certain segments ofthe route, such as running, jumping, climbing, or other activities.Specific performance objectives may also be incorporated into suchactivities, such as maximum times, number of steps or jumps, etc. Thesystem may further be configured such that meeting such performanceobjectives affects the progress or results of the search, for example,by having performance requirements for locating or activating theobject, providing additional (or fewer) clues or opportunities forsecondary user assistance, altering the quality of secondary userassistance, increasing or decreasing the reward, etc. Secondary usersmay be encouraged or required to perform athletic activities as well,which may involve performance objectives. The routes and/or performanceobjectives may be created based on characteristics of the user, such asprofile information regarding skills, capabilities, and experience, pastathletic performance data, preferences (e.g., incorporating favoriteactivities or designing the route to pass by favorite landmarks), andother information. This route customization may make the search processmore entertaining or challenging for the user(s) and/or may level theplaying field by presenting more difficult routes to more capable orexperienced users and less difficult routes to less capable orexperienced users.

FIG. 52 an exemplary flowchart of steps that certain embodiments maytake. The steps shown in FIG. 52 may be performed by a computing system,such as server 111. At step 3100, processor 202 of server 111 mayreceive a request to generate a plurality of routes for a plurality ofusers. The request may identify each of the plurality of users, and mayfurther identify an end-user computing device 1301, 1302 associated witheach of the users. The request may include one or more constraints fromthe plurality of routes, such as location constraints, lengthconstraints, geographical constraints (for example, peak altitude, andthe like), difficulty level, and the like. The constraints may beapplicable to all of the routes to be generated, or may be applicable toa subset of routes to be generated. The plurality of routes may begenerated for a scavenger hunt that the plurality of users areparticipating in.

At step 3101, processor 202 may retrieve user data from memory 212 ofsystem 111. Processor 202 may retrieve separate user data for each ofthe plurality of users. The user data may comprise athletic dataincluding, but not limited to: motion parameters, such as speed,acceleration, distance, steps taken, direction, relative movement ofcertain body portions or objects to others, or other motion parameterswhich may be expressed as angular rates, rectilinear rates orcombinations thereof, physiological parameters, such as calories, heartrate, sweat detection, effort, oxygen consumed, oxygen kinetics, andother metrics which may fall within one or more categories, such as:pressure, impact forces, information regarding the athlete, such asheight, weight, age, demographic information and combinations thereof.

At step 3102, processor 202 may generate a plurality of initial routesfor the plurality of users. Processor 202 may generate a customizedinitial route for each user, and one or more users may have the samecustomized initial routes. The plurality of initial routes may begenerated based on the constraints included in the request received atstep 3100 and the user data retrieved at step 3101. For example, theconstraints may specify a plurality of potential starting locations forthe initial routes, and maximum distance or completion time for theinitial routes. Processor 202 may generate a plurality of routes thateach begin at one of the potential starting locations, and that eachmeet the maximum distance and/or completion time requirements. The routegenerated for each user may be customized in terms of starting location,completion time, distance, difficulty, and the like, based on the userdata retrieved for that user. That is, the user's individual route maybe handicapped based on the user's prior athletic data. For example,each initial route may require special athletic moves or abilities, suchas jumping, running, climbing, etc. Users who have demonstrated a highlevel of athletic ability (based on their user data) may be expected totraverse a longer distance, and/or a more difficult topography (forexample, uphill routes), and/or complete the routes in a shorter amountof time. Each of the plurality of users must complete their customizedroute within a specified time period, or reach a specified location by aspecified time. In one instance, the plurality of users may be givendifferent start times based on an expected completion time for eachuser, such that the users each complete their customized initial routeat a same completion time, or within a same completion time window.

At step 3103, processor 202 may transmit the plurality of routes to theplurality of users. As noted above, the request received at step 3100may identify end-user computing devices associated with the plurality ofusers. Accordingly, processor 202 may send, to each user, via theiridentify end-user computing device, the customized route generated forthat user. Processor 202 may further send a start time to each user. Atstep 3104, processor 202 may receive performance results for each of theplurality of users. The performance result for each user may indicatewhether the user completed the initial route, a completion time, and theuser's performance data for the initial route. The performance data forthe initial route may include information similar to the athletic dataretrieved at step 3101.

At step 3105, processor 202 may generate secondary routes. In oneinstance, secondary routes may be generated for each of the plurality ofusers, regardless of whether each user completed their customizedinitial route. In another instance, secondary routes may be generatedfor only a subset of users. The subset of users may be those users thatcompleted their initial routes. The secondary routes may be generatedbased on the constraints received at step 3100, the user data retrievedat step 3101, the initial routes generated at 3102, and the initialperformance data received at step 3104. For example, the secondaryroutes may begin where the initial routes ended. The customary routesmay include activities that are similar to those included in the initialroute, and/or may include different activities. For example, if theinitial route for a first user included a plurality of hills, thesecondary route generated for that user may include only a few hills, orno hills.

The secondary routes may be customized for each user based on the userdata retrieved for the users at step 3102, and the initial performancedata received for the users at step 3104. For example, first user datafor a first user may indicate that the first user excels at uphillclimbs. First initial performance data for the first user may furtherindicate that the first user had a strong running pace. Second user datafor a second user may indicate that the second user has limitedexperience with uphill climbs, and second initial performance data forthe second user may further indicate that the second user had a slowrunning pace compared to the first user. Processor 202 may utilize thesefactors when generating the secondary route for the first user and thesecond user. A first secondary route generated for the first user mayinclude a first number of uphill climbs, and the first user may berequired to set a first running pace for particular portions of thefirst secondary route. A second secondary route generated for the seconduser may include a second number of uphill climbs, and the second usermay be required to set a second running pace for particular portions ofthe second secondary route. As the first user historically excels atuphill climbs and had a fast running rate during the initial route, thefirst number of uphill climbs may be greater than the second number ofuphill climbs, and the first running pace may be greater than the secondrunning pace.

The use of two users is exemplary, and more than two customized runningroutes may be generated. By generating different customized secondaryroutes for each user, and setting different requirements for the usersduring portions of the secondary routes, processor 212 may handicap eachuser based on their athletic data and their performance during theirinitial routes. This helps to create a level playing field among allparticipants of the scavenger hunt.

The secondary routes may further be customized based on userpreferences. For example, the first user may have indicated that theyare working on improving their running pace, and the second user mayhave indicated that they are working on improving their uphill climbs. Afirst customized secondary route generated for the first user mayinclude long stretches of flat roads, thereby allowing the first userthe opportunity to improve their running pace. Similarly, a secondcustomized secondary route generated for the second user may includemultiple hills, thereby allowing the second user the opportunity toimprove their uphill climbs.

At step 3106, processor 202 may transmit the customized secondary routesto their corresponding user via end-user computing devices associatedwith the user. At step 3107, processor 202 may receive performance datafor each user. The performance data for each user may include athleticdata indicating the user's performance on the customized secondaryroute. In one instance (shown at element 3110), the steps of receivingperformance data, generating additional routes, and transmitting theadditional routes to the user may be repeated one or more times. Thenumber of cycles may depend on how long the scavenger hunt is tocontinue. Once the hunt is complete, at step 3108, processor 202 mayselect one or more digital and/or physical assets as rewards for theusers. The selection of the assets may be based on the performance datareceived for the users during completion of the routes of the hunt. Inone instance, processor 202 may award a digital asset to allparticipants. In another example, users who achieved a first performancelevel may be awarded a first digital and/or physical asset, users whoachieved a second performance level may be awarded a second digitaland/or physical asset, and so on. In another example, top performers maybe awarded physical asset(s), and the remaining users may be awardeddigital asset(s). At step 3109, processor 202 may transmit informationregarding the rewarded digital and/or physical assets to the users viatheir end-user computing device. If a user has been rewarded a physicalasset, the information sent to their end-user computing device mayinclude an image of the asset, and instructions on how the physicalasset may be collected by the user.

Locating and Activating the Object

When the primary user reaches the location of the virtual object, thelocation of the object can be identified and the object can beactivated. The location may be determined and confirmed by the primarydevice 1301 and/or an external device (such as server 1307). Asdescribed herein, some assistance by the secondary user(s) may improvethe ability to locate the object, or may be required to locate theobject. Location of the object may require a given proximity to theobject, which range may be enhanced based on the number, participation,or characteristics of the secondary users. Transmission of image datafrom the primary device 1301 may also be required for location in oneembodiment, as the location is indicated using augmented reality. Items1806-1810 in FIG. 18 illustrate location of the object from theperspective of the display of the primary device 1301. As the userapproaches the object location, live video is displayed and transmittedby the primary device 1301 at 1806 and 1807, and a ping by a secondaryuser reveals the location of the object at 1808. The primary userapproaches the object at 1809, reaching the object at 1810. Oncelocated, the object may be activated automatically once the user is inclose proximity in one embodiment, such as at item 1811 in FIG. 18.Items 1906-1907 illustrate the location and activation of the objectfrom the perspective of the secondary device 1302, which also displaysthe live video from the primary device 1301 with augmented reality.Items 1812 and 1908 illustrate the reward being made available to theprimary and secondary user, respectively.

In another embodiment, some additional action may need to be taken byone or more users to activate the object. For example, the user(s) mayneed to answer quiz questions or assemble a virtual puzzle in oneembodiment. FIG. 27 illustrates augmented reality depicting a number ofvirtual items (orbs) that must be arranged to form a specific shape orvirtually “moved” to a specific location in order to activate theobject. The primary user may be required to virtually interact with theorbs by physical movement in order to relocate the orbs. Not all orbsmay be displayed to all users in one embodiment, such that cooperationand coordination of all users is required to relocate all of the orbs asrequired. In another embodiment, the primary device 1301 must view thevirtual object (using the capture device) from a specific perspective inorder to activate the object. FIGS. 28-30 illustrate augmented reality3-D images that are visible in a specific configuration when viewed fromthe correct perspective. FIG. 28 illustrates a sculpture that isproperly viewable from only a single perspective. As shown in FIGS. 29and 30, an arrangement of orbs appears randomly arranged when viewedfrom incorrect angles, but as the perspective changes, the orbs are seento form a brand logo, thereby activating the object. In a furtherembodiment, one or more users may need to engage in some activity,detected by activity monitoring equipment, in order to activate theobject. Other conditions may be required, including a combination ofconditions described herein. For example, a full group may be requiredto activate the object, either as a sole condition or in combinationwith other requirements.

In other embodiments, the target may not be a virtual object, and may bea physical/tangible object or a geographic location. In theseembodiments, the target may still require a specific user action foractivation. For example, the target may be physical object such as abuilding, monument or other structure, a piece of art, a vehicle, orother object, and activation of the target may require photography orother image capture of the object. Such image capture may require theimage to be captured from a specific location or orientation, or for theimage to be captured of a specific portion of the object. As anotherexample, the target may require user presence in a specific location,and activation may be required once the user reaches the location. As afurther example, some or all of the activation techniques describedabove with respect to a virtual object may be used in connection with atarget in the form of an actual object or a specific location.

Search Method with Participating and/or Observing Secondary Users

FIGS. 31-36 illustrate one embodiment of a method for searching for atarget within a geographical space and unlocking a reward using thesystem 1300 of FIG. 13. FIGS. 31-36 illustrate this method from theperspective of a device provided with a computer program enabling thedevice to function as the primary device 1301 or the secondary device1302, depending on the location of the device and/or user selections. Inone example, the computer program may be in the form of an applicationprovided for download to and/or storage on a mobile device andconfigured for causing the device to perform the method of FIGS. 31-36or specific portions thereof. FIGS. 42-51 illustrate display screensthat may be displayed by the device 1301, 1302 in connection with themethod of FIGS. 31-36, including displays of user selection options.FIGS. 37-40 illustrate another embodiment of a method for searching fora target within a geographical space and unlocking a reward using thesystem 1300 of FIG. 13. FIGS. 37-40 also illustrate this method from theperspective of a device provided with a computer program enabling thedevice to function as the primary device 1301 or the secondary device1302, depending on the location of the device and/or user selections.The methods in FIGS. 31-40 are shown from the perspective of the userdevice, and in one embodiment, the user device performs all steps of themethod and may utilize information from one or more external devices indoing so. However, it is understood that some or all of the actionsdescribed herein may be performed partially or fully by an externaldevice in communication with the device, such as an external server ordatabase, or may involve exchange of information with such an externaldevice. It is contemplated that information may be transmitted to, from,and between the external device and the user device, in the course ofactions performed by or in conjunction with such an external device. Itis also understood that the methods of FIGS. 31-40 may include portionsof the methods described herein with respect to FIGS. 14-19 and 31and/or features described herein with respect to FIGS. 20-30. While notspecifically described in FIGS. 31-40, these methods may utilizeaugmented reality features as described herein in connection withsearching for and/or activating the target, and the target may be avirtual object that is provided using the augmented reality features.

The method of FIGS. 31-36 is configured to perform searching for atarget and may utilize one or more different geographical areas todefine user roles. FIG. 41 illustrates an example of this configuration.For example, the method may utilize a search area 1308 with definedboundaries such that a user inside the search area 1308 is eligible for(or required to be, in one embodiment) a primary user or “searcher,”i.e., making the user's device a primary device 1301. The search area1308 may be defined such that users outside the search area are onlyeligible to be a secondary user, i.e., making the user's device asecondary device 1302. Additionally, in one embodiment, multiple targets1310 may be provided for searching, and such multiple targets 1310 maybe provided at different locations within a single search area 1308 asshown in FIG. 41, or within multiple different search areas 1308. Themethod of FIGS. 31-36 may utilize multiple different classes ofsecondary users, including “squad mate” or participating secondary usersthat use participating secondary devices 1302A and can interact withsearchers and potentially achieve a reward upon success of a searcher,and “watcher” or observing secondary users that use observing secondarydevices 1302B and can observe the progress of the search but do notbenefit from success of the search. In this embodiment, the method mayfurther use a participation area 1309 with defined boundaries such thata user inside the participation area 1309 is eligible to be aparticipating secondary user. In this configuration, a user outside thesearch area 1308 and the participation area 1309 may only be eligible tobe an observing secondary user. Multiple participation areas 1309 may beprovided in one embodiment. FIG. 41 illustrates the search area 1308 andthe participation area 1309 as a virtual boundary defined by a radiusfrom a designated center point, and the center point of the search area1308 may be at or near the location of a target 1310 in one embodiment.In other embodiments, the areas 1308, 1309 may be defined usingdifferent criteria, such as city limits, state or international lines,neighborhood boundaries, street-based boundaries, natural boundariessuch as rivers or mountains, virtual boundaries with square or othersimple or complex shapes, or other criteria, including arbitrary orirregular boundaries. In a further embodiment, the method may use onlyprimary and observing secondary users, such as in FIGS. 37-40, or themethod may use only primary and participating secondary users, withoutobserving secondary users.

In the example embodiment of FIGS. 31-36, a search area 1308 is definedby or within a designated city, and multiple targets 1310 are able to belocated within the search area 1308, such as in different neighborhoodswithin the city. In this embodiment, a participation area 1309 isdefined by or within a second designated city, such that participatingusers in one city may join a team or “squad” with searchers in the cityhaving the search area 1308 to locate the target 1310 and/or receive areward from locating or activating the target. This configurationprovides the ability for users in both the search area 1308 and theparticipation area 1309 to potentially receive the benefits fromlocating or activating the target 1310. Additionally, the method ofFIGS. 31-36 provides for creation of a team by participating usersselecting searchers by choice, as described herein. In otherembodiments, the teams may be created using other techniques describedherein, including various matching and selection methods.

In the example embodiment of FIGS. 31-36, the search may further haveother limitations in addition to geographic limitations, including atleast temporal limitations and inventory limitations. The temporallimitations may include a defined start time, such that the system doesnot permit locating or activating the target or provide any informationenabling users to do so prior to the defined start time. In thisconfigurations, users may commence the search at any time after thedefined start time. The ending of the search in the embodiment of FIGS.31-36 is governed by inventory limitations, i.e., the search ends aftera designated number of searchers have located or activated the targetand/or after a designated number of rewards have been provided. In anembodiment where multiple targets are provided for searching, eachtarget may be provided with an individual inventory limit, or acollective inventory limit may be provided for all targets combined. Inanother embodiment, the search may have a temporally-limited end timerather than an inventory-limited end time, or the search may have bothtemporal and inventory limits, with the search ending when either limitis reached.

In one embodiment, the method of FIGS. 31-36 may provide rewards to thesearcher and potentially some or all participating users upon locatingor activating the target, in the form of access to a consumer product.The consumer product may be a product that has otherwise limited publicaccess or is not publicly accessible through other channels. Forexample, the consumer product may be a new product that has not yet beenpublicly released, and the reward includes access to this product beforethe public release date. In the example screen shots shown in FIGS.42-51, the consumer product is a pair of shoes. The access may be in oneor more different forms, including exclusive access to purchase, avoucher for purchase, a gifted or complementary product, or other typesof access. In one embodiment, the access or other reward may be providedin a single form, and in another embodiment, the user may select thereward from multiple forms, such as choosing between exclusive access ora voucher. In a further embodiment, the reward for the searchers may beprovided in one form, and the reward for the participating users may beprovided in a different form. If the reward is in a form that permitspurchase of the item, the method may further include order and/orpayment screens that are accessible after the reward has been granted.The inventory of rewards may be maintained on a central server or systemdatabase 1307, and rewards may be granted through various devices 1301,1302 in communication with the server or database 1307.

As described herein, the method of FIGS. 31-36 may be performed by theuser device 1301, 1302, including the processor 202 and othercomponents, in conjunction with a server 111 and/or other externaldevices. In the embodiment of FIGS. 31-36, the method begins by the userfirst starting the application at 2001 on the device. A determination ismade whether the user has used the application previously at 2002, andsuch a determination may include receiving credentials or identifyinginformation by the user, e.g., a login ID and password, which may beentered into the user device. The information can be checked againstinformation on the server 111. If the user has not previously used theapplication, the device displays introduction information at 2003, whichmay include, without limitation, welcome information, instruction onusing the application, promotional information, and/or requests for theuser to provide information, such as identification or credentials forfuture use, payment information, etc. The application may requirelocation information for the user device, and in this embodiment, themethod includes determining whether the user has granted permission toaccess the user device's location, at 2004. If the user has not grantedsuch permission, the method may require access to the locationinformation for the device at 2005, and the application may beconfigured not to proceed without such access. In one embodiment, theuser may be able to provide such access by altering privacy settings onthe user device. Once location information is accessible, adetermination is then made whether the location of the user device hasalready been confirmed, at 2006, and if not, then location informationis received and the location is confirmed at 2007.

After the user location is confirmed, the system determines whether theuser is within the search area, at 2008, or within the participationarea, at 2009. This determination may be performed by the mobile devicein conjunction with the server 111. If the location of the user deviceis within the search area 1308, then the user is eligible to be aprimary user or searcher. In the embodiment of FIGS. 31-36, a userwithin the search area 1308 is defaulted to be a searcher and a userwithin the participation area is defaulted to be a participating user.In another embodiment, a user within the search area 1308 can select tobe a searcher or an observing user, and/or a user within theparticipation area 1309 can select to be a participating user or anobserving user. If the search area 1308 and the participation area 1309overlap, then a the user may default to being a searcher in oneembodiment, or may be able to select between being a searcher or aparticipating user (or potentially an observing user) in anotherembodiment. It is understood that if options for user type selection arepresented to the user, the device may receive user input for selectionof user type. Once the user type is determined, whether through defaultor selection, the process proceeds to FIG. 32 at a searcher path 2010 ifthe user is a searcher, to FIG. 34 at a participating path 2011 if theuser is a participating user, or to FIG. 36 at an observing path 2012 ifthe user is an observing user.

If the user is assigned to be a searcher and the method proceeds via thesearcher path 2010, the system may require or permit the user to providea profile picture, as well as potentially additional identifyinginformation. For example, the system may determine whether the user haspreviously provided a profile picture at 2013, and if not, then thesystem may prompt the user to upload a profile picture at 2014. Themethod of FIGS. 31-36 uses a temporal beginning limitation, and in thisembodiment, the system determines whether the search has begun at 2015.If the start time of the search has not yet been reached, the systemrequires the user to wait until the start time, and the primary device1301 may display a waiting screen, at 2016. In one embodiment, thewaiting screen may include a countdown, such as a constant countdown ora countdown that begins at a specific time in advance of the start time(e.g., 1 minute or 10 seconds).

Once the search start time has been reached, the device displays thestatus and other information about the search, at 2017. FIG. 42illustrates an example display screen that may be displayed by theprimary device 1301 that includes various search information, includingthe potential reward (in this case, access to purchase a specific pairof shoes and a price of purchase), the location of the search area 1308,the location areas of each target, inventory of each target, andinstructions how to locate and/or activate the target, among otherinformation. Some or all information displayed may be obtained from theserver 111. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 42, the search informationscreen includes location areas for three different targets, identifyinga general location area (in this case, a neighborhood) in which eachtarget is located, and inventory information associated with eachtarget, which is displayed in FIG. 42 as a percentage of the originalinventory of rewards that remains for each target. In this embodiment,each target is associated with the same reward, but in anotherembodiment, different potential rewards may also be displayed for eachvirtual item. Additionally, in the embodiment of FIG. 42, the searchinformation screen also functions as a selection screen for selectingamong the multiple targets for which the search can be conducted. Theuser may select one of the targets by tapping on the appropriate targeton the selection screen in FIG. 42, and the system thereby receives aselection of a target for search, at 2018. Once the target is selected,the system checks whether the target has already been unlocked by theparticular searcher, at 2019, and if so, then the method proceeds tostep 2030. If the target has not been unlocked already, the system alsodetermines whether inventory is still available for the object selected,at 2020. In one embodiment, the inventory is maintained on a server 111,and the device 1301 communicates with the server to check the inventorystatus. If no inventory remains for the selected object, the methodreturns to the search status screen at 2017, and the primary device 1301may display a message to the user indicating that inventory is notavailable, e.g., “Sold Out.” If inventory still exists, then the searchbegins, and the method proceeds through 2010A. It is understood that ifinventory runs out before the searcher locates the target, the server111 may notify the device 1301 that no inventory remains, and theprocess may be modified accordingly. In one embodiment, the device 1301displays a notice to the user that the inventory associated with thetarget is depleted, and the process may be returned to step 2017.

In one embodiment, the system may use one or more beacons near thelocation of a target to aid in location, such that the beacon(s) areconfigured to transmit information to the primary user device 1301. Suchbeacons may use short range communication technologies such as WiFi®,Bluetooth®, Near-Field Communication (NFC) and/or ANT technologies, andif the method uses such beacons, the device 1301 may be required todetect and enable use of such technologies. If the method proceedsthrough 2010A, the system determines whether such beacons are used (orrequired, in one embodiment) for location of the target, at 2021, and ifso, may require activation of features on the device 1301 to use suchshort range communication, at 2022. In the example embodiment of FIGS.31-36, the technology used is Bluetooth®. The user is then free tosearch for and/or attempt to reach the location of the target, and thesystem monitors the user's location, at 2023, and may provide assistanceand/or information to the user in connection with the search, asdescribed herein. In the embodiment of FIGS. 31-36, the user may requestone or more periodic location checks, at 2024, which are receivedthrough the device 1301. FIG. 44 illustrates an example of a displayscreen that provides a button 2025 for a user to request a locationcheck, and it is understood that location checks may be limited in someway as described herein, such as by number or frequency of checkspermitted. The button 2025 in FIG. 44 provides distance information whenpressed, as shown in FIG. 45, and also provides directional informationfor the target location. The system may check to determine whether theuser has reached the target location at 2026, and if not, provideslocation information to assist the user in locating the target asdescribed herein, at 2027. FIG. 45 illustrates an example of a displayscreen that provides location information to the user in response to thelocation check, in the form of a distance to the target location.Additional location information may be provided as well, such as thedirection of the target or a route to the target. It is understood thatany location information may be provided from the server 111 to thedevice 1301 in one embodiment. Additionally, in one embodiment, otherusers (such as participating users 1309) may assist the searcher withproviding location information, as described herein.

If the user has reached the object location, the system may requireactivation of the target by the user, at 2028, such as through thevarious activation techniques described herein. FIG. 46 illustrates anexample of a display screen that permits the user to indicate thathe/she has reached the target, by tapping a button 2029 that reads, “I'mHere.” In one embodiment, this action may initiate activation proceduresthat may be required, as described herein, and in another embodiment,activation may be accomplished simply by reaching the location andtapping the button 2029. Various activation techniques described hereinmay be required, including those that make use of image capture and/oraugmented reality features. For example, in one embodiment, a user maybe required to photograph or otherwise image capture a specific actualor virtual object (e.g., by bringing the object within the camera'sfield of view) to activate the target and the reward. In anotherembodiment, augmented reality and image capture may not be used, and auser may simply need to reach the target to activate the reward.

Once the user has located or activated the target, the system mayprovide a reward to the user, at 2030, as described herein, such as byconfirmation transmitted from the server 111 and received by the device1301. The reward in one embodiment may be exclusive access to buy aconsumer product or a voucher for such a product. The device 1301 maydisplay a notice to the user that the award has been received. FIG. 47illustrates an example of a display screen that provides notice of thereward in the form of exclusive access to buy a commercial product (inthis case, a pair of shoes), with an option for the user to be taken toa purchase screen or site, e.g., for entry of payment information anddelivery or in-store pickup information. If any participating users aregiven rewards based on the searcher locating or activating the target,the system also notifies and/or provides the reward to suchparticipating users at 2031. The participating user(s) may transmitmessages to the primary user in one embodiment, as described herein. Themethod may also compile and display information regarding the search, at2032, such as the first user to locate or activate the target, the userwith the fastest time between beginning the search and locating oractivating the object, the user who traveled the farthest distance tolocate the object, the last user to locate or activate the target, etc.In one embodiment, the system does not compile or display thisinformation until all targets have been located or activated, and thisinformation may be compiled and displayed for each individual objectand/or for all objects collectively.

If the user is assigned to be a participating user and the methodproceeds via the participation path 2011, the system may require orpermit the user to provide a profile picture, as well as potentiallyadditional identifying information. For example, the system maydetermine whether the user has previously provided a profile picture at2033, and if not, then the system may prompt the user to upload aprofile picture at 2034. The method of FIGS. 31-36 uses a temporalbeginning limitation, and in this embodiment, the system determineswhether the search has begun at 2035. If the start time of the searchhas not yet been reached, the system requires the user to wait until thestart time, and the participating secondary device 1302A may display awaiting screen, at 2036. In one embodiment, the waiting screen mayinclude a countdown, such as a constant countdown or a countdown thatbegins at a specific time in advance of the start time (e.g., 1 minuteor 10 seconds). It is noted that the system may also provide additionalinstructions for proceeding as a participating user. For example, in oneembodiment, the device 1302A may inform the user that the user iseligible for a reward once 100% of the inventory has been unlocked forall targets.

Once the search start time has been reached, the device displays thestatus and other information about the search, at 2037. FIG. 43illustrates an example display screen that may be displayed by theparticipating secondary device 1302A that includes various searchinformation, including the potential reward (in this case, access topurchase a specific pair of shoes and a price of purchase), the locationof the search area 1308, the location of the participation area 1309,the location areas of each target, and the inventory of each target,among other information. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 43, the searchinformation screen includes location areas for three different targets,identifying a general location area (in this case, a neighborhood) inwhich each target is located, and inventory information associated witheach target, which is displayed in FIG. 43 as a percentage of the totalinventory of rewards that have been unlocked or granted for each target.As described herein, some or all of this information may be provided tothe device 1302 from the server 111. In this embodiment, each target isassociated with the same reward, but in another embodiment, differentpotential rewards may also be displayed for each virtual item.Additionally, in the embodiment of FIG. 43, the search informationscreen also functions as a selection screen for selecting among themultiple targets for which the search is being conducted. The user mayselect to view information about one of the targets, includinginformation about the searchers who are searching for the respectivetarget in one embodiment, by tapping on the appropriate object on theselection screen in FIG. 43. The system thereby receives a selection ofone of the targets, at 2038. Once the target is selected, the methodproceeds to step 2039 in FIG. 35 via 2011A.

After the target is selected at 2038, the device 1302A displaysinformation about the selected target, at 2039, such as the generallocation of the target, inventory information, and other suchinformation. In one embodiment, this information includes a complete orpartial list of all searchers who have designated that they aresearching for the selected target, as well as additional informationabout each searcher, such as a photo, status information for thesearchers, recent actions by the searchers, and/or proximity of thesearcher to the target, which may be qualitative (e.g., close or far) orquantitative (e.g., 0.3 miles away). The information display screen mayalso double as a searcher selection screen in one embodiment, providingoptions for the participating user to select a searcher to team with.FIG. 48 illustrates an example display screen that may be displayed bythe participating secondary device 1302A that includes targetinformation, inventory information, and a scrolling list of potentialsearchers for selection, along with qualitative proximity informationfor each searcher. In the embodiment of FIGS. 31-36, only searchers whohave not yet located or activated the target are eligible for selection.The system then receives a selection of a searcher from theparticipating user through the device 1302A, at 2040, and returns to thesearch status screen (FIG. 43) at 2041. In one embodiment, the systemmay include requirements that must be met for the reward to be availableto the participating user, and the system determines whether theserequirements are met and whether the reward is available, at 2042. Theserequirements may include at least that the selected searcher has locatedor activated the target, and in one embodiment, no participating usersare eligible for the reward until the search has ended, i.e., throughtemporal or inventory limitations being met.

Once the reward is available, the device 1302A displays a reward notice,at 2043, indicating that the participating user is eligible for thereward, which may require action on the part of the participating userto receive the reward. FIG. 49 illustrates an example display screen fora reward notice that may be displayed by the participating secondarydevice 1302A, which requires the user to attempt to receive the rewardby pressing the “Unlock” button within a time limit. In the example ofFIG. 49, if the user does not attempt to secure the reward within thetime limit, the reward is not granted, and the device 1302A displays an“unsuccessful” notice indicating that the reward was not received. Ifthe user does attempt to secure the reward, the system then determineswhether the reward is granted to the participating user, at 2044. Thisdetermination may depend on multiple factors, including whether thesearcher selected by the participating user was successful in finding oractivating the target, the number of rewards available, the number ofparticipating users that qualify for the reward, and potentially otherconsiderations. In one embodiment, any participating users who selecteda successful searcher (i.e., a searcher who located or activated thetarget) are eligible to receive the reward. FIG. 35A illustrates onesubprocess for determining whether the reward is granted at 2044. Thesystem first determines whether the participating user selected asuccessful searcher at 2045. If not, then the reward is not granted at2046. If so, then the participating user qualifies for the reward, andthe system next determines whether the number of rewards availableequals or exceeds the number of qualified participating users at 2047.If so, then all qualifying participating users receive the reward at2048. If not, then additional criteria are applied to choose whichqualified users receive the reward at 2049. In one embodiment, thereward recipients are selected at random from the pool of qualifiedparticipating users. In other embodiments, other criteria may beapplied, such as giving precedence to participating users who began theprocess earlier, granting rewards based on the performance of thesearcher teamed with each participating user (i.e., speed, distancetraveled, etc.), consideration of brand loyalty or other user history,etc. If the reward is not granted to the participating user, the device1302A displays an “unsuccessful” notice that the reward was not receivedat 2050. If the reward is granted, the user may need to performadditional actions in order to receive the reward, such as transmittinga message to the searcher with whom the participating user was teamed(e.g., a message of credit or gratitude) at 2051. The reward is thenprovided at 2052. Whether or not the reward was granted, post-searchinformation as described herein may be compiled and provided at 2053.The server 111 may send a confirmation that the reward is secured,and/or determine whether the reward is granted, in one embodiment.

If the user is assigned to be an observing user, the method proceeds viathe observation path 2012. In one embodiment, the system may require orpermit the observing user to provide a profile picture, as well aspotentially additional identifying information, as described herein. Themethod of FIGS. 31-36 uses a temporal beginning limitation, and in thisembodiment, the system determines whether the search has begun at 2054.If the start time of the search has not yet been reached, the systemrequires the user to wait until the start time, and the observingsecondary device 1302B may display a waiting screen, at 2055. In oneembodiment, the waiting screen may include a countdown, such as aconstant countdown or a countdown that begins at a specific time inadvance of the start time (e.g., 1 minute or 10 seconds). It is notedthat the system may also provide additional instructions for proceedingas an observing user.

Once the search start time has been reached, the device displays thestatus and other information about the search, at 2056. The displayscreen that may be displayed by the observing secondary device 1302B maybe similar to the search information screen displayed by theparticipating secondary device 1302A, such as in FIG. 43, and mayinclude the same or similar information. In one embodiment, the searchinformation screen for the observation path includes the sameinformation and layout as FIG. 43, but with instructions for proceedingas an observing user rather than as a participating user. Additionally,the search information screen may also function as a selection screenfor selecting among the multiple targets for which the search is beingconducted, also similar to the method for the participating device1302A. The observing user may select to view information about one ofthe targets, including information about the searchers who are searchingfor the respective target in one embodiment, by tapping on theappropriate object on the selection screen. The system thereby receivesa selection of one of the targets, at 2057, and the device 1302Bdisplays information about the selected target, at 2058. Thisinformation may include the information displayed by the participatingsecondary device 1302A, including (among other information) a completeor partial list of all searchers who have designated that they aresearching for the selected target, as well as additional informationabout each searcher, similar to that illustrated in FIG. 48. Furtherinformation about each searcher may be available by selecting a specificsearcher. The observing user may observe status about the search, eachtarget, and various users throughout the course of the search. Once thesearch is complete, as determined at 2059, the system may compile anddisplay post-search information as described herein, at 2060.

FIGS. 37-40 illustrate another embodiment of a method that uses many ofthe features as the method of FIGS. 31-36, without the incorporation ofparticipating secondary users or a participation area 1309. In otherwords, the users in the method of FIGS. 37-40 are assigned as eithersearchers or observing secondary users as described herein. As describedherein, the method of FIGS. 37-40 may be performed by the user device1301, 1302, including the processor 202 and other components, inconjunction with a server 111 and/or other external devices. Steps2061-2068 in FIG. 37 are the same as steps 2001-2008 in FIG. 31 asdescribed herein, and the same variations and alternate embodiments maybe used. At step 2068, if the system determines that the user is withinthe search area 1308, then the user is assigned to be a searcher orprimary user and proceeds according to the searching path at 2069. Ifthe system determines that the user is not within the search area 1308,then the user is assigned to be an observing secondary user and proceedsaccording to the observation path at 2070.

If the user is assigned to be a searcher and the method proceeds via thesearcher path 2069, steps 2071-2078 in FIG. 38 are the same as steps2013-2020 in FIG. 32 as described herein, and the same variations andalternate embodiments may be used. The reward offered for the searcherin the embodiment of FIGS. 37-40 may be in the form of exclusive accessto the consumer product or as a voucher for the consumer product. Inthis embodiment, if the system determines at step 2077 that the user hasalready located or activated the target, the procedure depends onwhether the reward was in the form of exclusive access (proceeding to2086A) or a voucher (proceeding to 2086B). If the user has notpreviously located or activated the target, and inventory is determinedto be available for the selected target at 2078, the method proceeds toFIG. 39 via 2069A. If the method proceeds via 2069A, steps 2079-2085 arethe same as steps 2021-2024 and 2026-2028 in FIG. 33 as describedherein. The system determines whether the reward is provided asexclusive access or as a voucher at 2086, and the appropriate reward ismade available at 2086A for exclusive access or 2086B for a voucher. Ineither event, the system may compile and display post-search informationat 2087 as discussed herein, which may not be done until the search iscomplete.

If the user is assigned to be an observing user and the method proceedsvia the observation path 2070, the steps (2088-2094) of the observationpath in FIG. 40 are the same as the steps (2054-2060) of the observationpath of FIG. 36 described herein, and the same variations and alternateembodiments may be used.

It is understood that all methods described herein may be performed by asingle device 200 or system that includes a combination of devices 200,including a mobile device 1301, 1302 (which may be a computer device 114or a portable electronic device 112), a server 111, or other computingdevices described herein. In one embodiment, a mobile device 1301, 1302may communicate with a server 111 through a network, e.g., as the mobiledevice 112 and computer device 114 function in FIG. 1. In anotherembodiment, one device may communicate with a second device through onenetwork, and the second device may communicate with the server 111through a different network, e.g., such as the mobile device 112communicating through the computer device 114 in FIG. 1. Any or all suchdevices may be provided with a computer program containing program codewhich, when executed by a computing device, causes the device to performthe method and/or to communicate with other devices in performing themethod. The program may be stored in a (non-transitory)computer-readable recording medium (e.g., memory 212).

Aspects discussed in the present disclosure enhance and facilitatecooperation and social interaction between users with similar interests,including similar brand interest and loyalty. Aspects discussed in thepresent disclosure also provide the ability for remote users tovirtually explore areas of a city or other area in which they do notlive and encourage users to explore their own city as well. Aspectsdiscussed in the present disclosure further enable users who cannot bephysically present at new or limited product releases to still obtainthe ability to purchase such products, through cooperation with othersuch users. Still further, aspects discussed in the present disclosureprovide for release and sale of new consumer products, particularlyhigh-demand products, in ways that are unique and engaging for theconsumer. Additional benefits and advantages of aspects discussed hereinare recognizable to those skilled in the art.

Several alternative embodiments and examples have been described andillustrated herein. A person of ordinary skill in the art wouldappreciate the features of the individual embodiments, and the possiblecombinations and variations of the components. A person of ordinaryskill in the art would further appreciate that any of the embodimentscould be provided in any combination with the other embodimentsdisclosed herein. It is understood that the invention may be embodied inother specific forms without departing from the spirit or centralcharacteristics thereof. The present examples and embodiments,therefore, are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and notrestrictive, and the invention is not to be limited to the details givenherein. The term “plurality,” as used herein, indicates any numbergreater than one, either disjunctively or conjunctively, as necessary,up to an infinite number. Accordingly, while the specific embodimentshave been illustrated and described, numerous modifications come to mindwithout significantly departing from the spirit of the invention and thescope of protection is only limited by the scope of the accompanyingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: determining, by a server,that a geographic position of a mobile device of a user is not locatedwithin a search area and that the geographic position of the mobiledevice is located within a participation area, wherein the search areaand the participation area are separate geographic areas; providing, bythe server to the mobile device through a network, information regardinga plurality of primary users located within the search area who aresearching for a first target located at a first target location withinthe search area; receiving, by the server from the mobile device throughthe network, indication of a user selection of a first primary user fromthe plurality of primary users; providing, by the server to the mobiledevice through the network, information about the first primary userselected; providing, by the server to the mobile device through thenetwork, direction information to get the first primary user to thefirst target location; receiving, by the server, indication that thefirst primary user has reached the first target location; and causing,by the server based on receiving the indication that the first primaryuser has reached the first target location, a reward to be provided tothe user, wherein the reward comprises access to purchase a tangibleconsumer product or a voucher to purchase the tangible consumer product.2. The method of claim 1, wherein the tangible consumer product is anarticle of apparel.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:providing, by the server to the mobile device through the network,indication of a required action to be performed by the user; receiving,by the server from the mobile device through the network, indicationthat the user has performed the required action; and providing thedirection information based on the indication that the user hasperformed the required action.
 4. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: determining, by the server, the direction information toprovide based on information related to the reward; and wherein theinformation related to the reward comprises at least one of: one or morepast product purchases; a threshold amount of participation in anactivity; or use of an application related to at least one of a productor fitness.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing, bythe server to the mobile device through the network, informationregarding a plurality of targets, including the first target, located ata plurality of different target locations within the search area;receiving, by the server from the mobile device through the network,indication of a user selection of the first target from the plurality oftargets; providing, by the server to the mobile device through thenetwork, information regarding a plurality of primary users, includingthe first primary user, searching for the first target; and receiving,by the server from the mobile device through the network, indication ofa user selection of the first primary user from the plurality of primaryusers.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein a limited inventory of thetangible consumer product is associated with each of the plurality oftargets, and wherein the information regarding the plurality of targetsincludes information indicating an amount of the limited inventoryavailable for each of the plurality of targets.
 7. The method of claim6, wherein the information regarding the plurality of primary usersincludes information indicating a proximity of each of the primary usersto the first target.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprisingproviding, by the server to the mobile device through the network, anindication that the limited inventory for all of the plurality oftargets has been exhausted, and the reward is provided to the user afterall of the limited inventory for all of the plurality of targets hasbeen exhausted.
 9. An apparatus comprising: one or more processors;memory storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by theone or more processors, cause the apparatus to perform: determining thata geographic position of a mobile device of a user is not located withina search area and that the geographic position of the mobile device ofthe user is located within a participation area, wherein the search areaand the participation area are separate geographic areas; providing, tothe mobile device through a network, information regarding a pluralityof primary users located within the search area who are searching for afirst target located at a first target location within the search area;receiving, from the mobile device through the network, indication of auser selection of a first primary user from the plurality of primaryusers; providing, to the mobile device through the network, informationabout the first primary user selected; and providing, to the mobiledevice through the network, direction information to get the firstprimary user to the first target location; receiving indication that thefirst primary user has reached the first target location; and causing,based on receiving the indication that the first primary user hasreached the first target location, a reward to be provided to the user,wherein the reward comprises access to purchase a tangible consumerproduct or a voucher to purchase the tangible consumer product.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 9, wherein the tangible consumer product is anarticle of apparel.
 11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein theinstructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause theapparatus to further perform: providing, to the mobile device throughthe network, indication of a required action to be performed by theuser; receiving, from the mobile device through the network, indicationthat the user has performed the required action; and providing thedirection information based on the indication that the use has performedthe required action.
 12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein theinstructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause theapparatus to further perform: determining the direction information toprovide based on information related to the reward; and wherein theinformation related to the reward comprises at least one of: one or morepast product purchases; a threshold amount of participation in anactivity; or use of an application related to at least one of a productor fitness.
 13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to furtherperform: providing, to the mobile device through the network,information regarding a plurality of targets, including the firsttarget, located at a plurality of different target locations within thesearch area; receiving, from the mobile device through the network,indication of a user selection of the first target from the plurality oftargets; providing, to the mobile device through the network,information regarding a plurality of primary users, including the firstprimary user, searching for the first target; and receiving, from themobile device through the network, indication of a user selection of thefirst primary user from the plurality of primary users.
 14. Theapparatus of claim 13, wherein a limited inventory of the tangibleconsumer product is associated with each of the plurality of targets,and wherein the information regarding the plurality of targets includesinformation indicating an amount of the limited inventory available foreach of the plurality of targets.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, whereinthe information regarding the plurality of primary users includesinformation indicating a proximity of each of the primary users to thefirst target.
 16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the instructions,when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus tofurther perform, to the mobile device through the network, an indicationthat the limited inventory for all of the plurality of targets has beenexhausted, and the reward is provided to the user after all of thelimited inventory for all of the plurality of targets has beenexhausted.